The Seasons of Change
by Khorale
Summary: AU. They say that when a butterfly flaps it's wings, it causes a tornado on the other side of the world. In Madara's case, history would be changed. Forever.
1. Madara vs Spark

**Yo, people! Khorale here! Here it is: the first chapter of 'The Seasons of Change'. So it's about a bunch of people got kidnapped by a mysterious group (Gradually revealed in later chapters) of people, the rest of the elemental country are in an uproar and the ninjas must find a way to retaliate before it's too late. Sounds interesting? Good, I live to entertain ya all!**

**I made this 'cause there aren't nearly enough good Madara fanfictions out here. Yes, there are other main characters, but most of the story is from Madara's POV (third person).**

**PLEASE READ THIS: This story was made LONG before chapter 559 came out, so that means that in here, Madara is Tobi. (Too tiring to change everything to fit the canon plot)  
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**PS, The author (aka me) will be an OC in the story, taking the role of the newest Akatsuki member with an ability to get a glimpse of the future!**

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><p>✿ Chapter 1: Madara vs Spark✿<p>

_Madara vs a multicolored spark. The spark wins and the loser has to deal with the consequences..._

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><p>Madara groaned.<p>

His head hurt, and his back was sore.

He glanced around.

Darkness.

He opened both his Sharingan and Rin'negan eyes, but saw no chakra signatures around him. He felt the space around him, memories rapidly returning to him. His finger touched steel bars, and he felt a small jolt of pain.

Ah yes, he had traveled back in time by some freak accident while battling the Kyuubi kid. He had _died_ by a well-placed Rasengan. He recalled a vague memory of the brat's father kicking his ass the same way. Oh the irony. But he didn't particularly care about that right now.

But before it all went black, both of his doujutsu flared without his control, and with a swirl of a space-time jutsu -a different one than the one he used to travel - he woke up in a hotel.

_FLASHBACK_

_Madara read the calendar over and over again. __Was__ this some kind of a trick? He remembered the Kyuubi brat was a famous prankster in Konoha before he made ninja._

_He then shook his head. No. The brat didn't know about this mission, the one to capture the Sanbi. So could it be that he was actually back in time?_

_ _And if he was back in time, then the Akatsuki members __were__ alive! And that __meant__...__

_Madara groaned. He hated the Tobi façade__,__ and was quite pleased when he got the chance to reveal himself to the world in the future. Returning here __meant__ he had to act like a brain-damaged idiot __all the time. He was sure doing so would fry his IQ even further, and Madara isn't exactly the sanest man on earth.  
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_He hurried towards the bathroom. There was something he had to confirm._

_ _Madara locked the bathroom with as many chains as possible__ -just in case Deidara would barge in on him-__ and then took off his mask. He gasped when he saw the __Rin'negan__ eye. It __looked__ like __he'd__ traveled through time physically rather than mentally, though his mask was still orange and swirly__,__ instead of that awesome white Juubi-eye mask he had in the future.__

_ _Madara then pu__t__ h__is overly-bright mask on and undid the locks. Racing to Deidara's room, he switched __to__ his 'Tobi__'__ persona and darted inside.__

_ _"DEIDARA-__SENPAI__!" he screeched in an overly cheerful tone. "WAKE UP!"__

_"Shut up Tobi, un." groaned Deidara, rubbing his ears. "You'll scare away the Bijuu."_

_Tobi just nodded and bounced away, doing a perfect impersonation of a hyperactive bouncy-ball.  
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_ _They approached the lake __where __the three-tails __was __rumored to be in__,__ and Deidara flew up onto a clay bird. "You capture him, Tobi. I haven't seen you in action before, un."__

'And you won't for a very long time,' _Madara thought, but outwards he yelled "Ehhhh! This is a water creature! Isn't Kisame-san best for this job?"_

__"This B__ijuu__ has no host, so it's not very intelligent. And it's time we __saw__ your skills, Tobi, un__,__" __s__aid Deidara. But unfortunately, the three-tailed demon turtle awoke__,__ and __its__ blank stare fixed on Tobi. With a huge roar__,__ it opened its mouth, almost swallowing the masked man.__

_ _"Waaaaaah! __IT'S__ AFTER ME!" Tobi cried__,__ as he ran across the water and away from the enraged turtle. After dodging a few swipes and blasts of boiling hot water, Deidara decided that the leader would be pissed at him if Tobi died, so he molded a C2 fish and tossed it __into__ the water.__

_The clay fish swam speedily towards Sanbi, and with a yell of "KATSU!," it exploded._

_Tobi was blasted through the air and somehow survived the explosion, to Deidara's surprise. The Sanbi however was knocked unconscious.  
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_"Capturing mission complete!" Tobi cheered and leap onto the unconscious Bijuu's shell.  
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_After lugging the huge turtle to base, Tobi saw Sasori, who was alive for some reason. _

_Madara's mind was overrun with questions but as he glanced at Deidara, he saw no confusion so he decided to react later and find out the information then.  
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_ _"The mission was __successful__, un__,__" said Deidara.__ "T__hough Tobi was quite useless."__

_ _"Oi, __Senpai__! I did distract the Sanbi for you!" Tobi cried.__

_Sasori only grunted and walked away. "The sealing will begin three days later. Now return to your rooms."_

'Rooms?'_ Madara thought, puzzled. _'what do you mean rooms?'_ but he wisely kept from questioning Sasori.  
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_ _Madara wandered through the hallway. He was lost. Why __was__ a secret lair here anyways? He knew -or he thought he did- that the Akatsuki __slept__ in hotels__,__ and only __met__ in holograms. This clearly __was__ not the case. He __needed__ to find Pein, who hopefully would have an answer.__

_"Hi there!" a voice called out behind him. Madara whirled around._

_She had short black hair curled to frame her face and warm green eyes. She wore a lazy expression and a blue baseball cap on her head. She also wore a black jacket and stretchy sky-blue pants.  
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_"Tobi wonders who you are." said Madara in a high-pitched childish tone. The person giggled._

_"Ah, no need to do that, Madara." she said. _

_Madara tensed. "Who are you?" He asked. The stranger was not at all concerned that the secret leader of the akatsuki was glaring at her. She was quite amused, actually._

_"I'm Khorale. I want to join this little group of yours." she said simply._

_ _Madara's eyes narrowed. "What's in it for me?__"__h__e asked__.__

_"Information. It's part of my contract. Here." she said, handing him a certificate._

__ KHORALE WILL HELP THE AKATSUKI ON __THESE__ CONDITIONS:__

_ _1. She must not hurt anyone in __any way,__ or aid anyone in battle.__

_ _2 She will give out information when asked, no holding back__,__ t__hough no answering personal questions__._  
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_ _3. __N__o relationships with anyone__.__

_ _And beneath that __was__ Khorale's messy signature.__

_ _"So..." she said, "__a__sk away."__

_"Why is that puppet boy alive?" Madara demanded._

__"Oh, when you arrived here, there was a ripple in time. You know, the butterfly theory: A butterfly flaps __its,__ wings and __causes__ a __tornado__ on the other side of the __world__. But your case was... special. When you arrived, the ripples affected not only the future, but the past as well. I really have no ide__a __h__ow this __worked,__" she said, shrugging.__

_"And we live in a lair because...?"_

_ _"That," she smiled, "was my fault__,__ actually. You see, I am the author of this whole story__,__ so I had to do random things to spice up the plot. The fact that you all live together is not really important to the plot, but it will provide some comic relief__ when things __get__ REALLY interesting."__

_ _Madara was curious. "__How so__?"__

_"I have only a vague idea on it. Something was blocking my view to the future. Though I knew that the fourth shinobi war would be earlier than expected, and for some reason you're not the one declaring it. The image of it was blurry, but still there." _

_Madara nodded. "And what of this timeline?"_

__"Glad you asked. There were only minor differences with the past, unlike the future. For one, Gaara wasn't captured, so Sasori didn't die. And since Deidara failed, Pein assigned him to you as a punishment. Itachi isn't __going __blind__,__ and__ doesn't have__ the disease. It was some kind of forbidden jutsu Sasori found while breaking into the Sand for that Ichibi mission. Sasuke didn't murder Orochimaru, choosing to flee the base in secret the day before Orochimaru __tried to take __his body. And that's all."__

_Madara nodded. "So__,__ now I have to hold up my end of the bargain. Welcome to the Akatsuki, Khorale-chan." __H__e walked away. "I'm taking you to Pein to officially admit you in and explain my little 'adventure__.'"_

_He walked on for a few moments, then stopped. "Damn it! I forgot I was lost!" he exclaimed._

_ _Khorale laughed. "And you forgot that I know everything. Come on!" __S__he dragged the embarrassed Uchiha into Pein's office.__

_"Come in." said Pein, Konan by his side. Pein raised an eyebrow at Khorale, but chose to stay silent, not sure whether to address him as Tobi or Madara._

_ _"It's me__,__" Madara said simply. Pein nodded. "I have come to you to admit the tenth member __of__ the Akatsuki. She __will__ get Orochimaru's ring."__

_ _"Madara__,__i__s there a reason that you have __admitted__ her into the Akatsuki? She does not seem strong."__

_ _"I'm sure she __will__ explain to you. I'm leaving." Madara disappeared in a swirl.__

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><p><em> <em>Madara wandered around the base, taking in every detail<em>_,__ and __memorizing__ every pathway. __The __Sharingan was such a useful technique here. It was not called the 'Copy wheel eye' for nothing. He walked past several rooms, coming across __the__ strange sight of Hidan and Kakuzu fighting over a remote control. Madara chuckled and walked on.__

_ _Suddenly__,__ there was a crash__,__ and somebody bumped into him. "Hey! __W__atch where you're-" Madara paused as he recognized the person that had bumped into him. It was Deidara, and Madara had almost busted his own cover. "I-__I__ mean__,__ sorry__, __senpai__!" Tobi squeaked__,__ and hurried away.__

_ _Deidara stared at Tobi's retreating figure. "Well__,__ that was weird, un__,__" he said__,__ and walked on. Though he did not show it, the clay-bomb artist was suspicious. He had noticed __that__ Tobi had spoken in a deeper voice, a more serious one. There had also been a red glow behind the eye-hole of the bright orange mask. Could Tobi be...__?__

_'Nah, he's too stupid to be one.' thought Deidara, shaking his head and walked on._

_ _Madara continued on as he strolled through the lair. The building was underground in a cave below Ame. There __were __twists and turns that led far deeper into the cave than anyone had ever dared to explore. No one dared to wander too far__,__ or risk entering a path without the lanterns lighting the way. Even S class criminals __were__ afraid of the dark. But really, no one knew where those paths led to__,__ and those whom had tried never came back.__

_Madara came across the sight of Pein's Preta Path running away from a spider. "Need help?" he asked._

__"Please!" Preta cried pitifully. Though the dead bodies were controlled by Nagato, the corpses still __retained__ some of their original personalities_. And in Preta's case, he has arachnophobia before he died._

_Madara__ stomped on the spider and killed it and Preta breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."_

_Madara finally found his own room and looked inside. It was blank__,__ except __for __a wardrobe filled with sweets (both Madara and Tobi had quite the sweet tooth. Plus, Madara needed a LOT of sugar to keep up with the hyperactive act. It showed how dedicated to keep his identity secret.) and a bed. Simple and neat. If the others barged into his room, they wouldn't get much information about him._

_"Yo." Madara looked up, Khorale stood over by the door. "I finished the talk with Leader-sama. Can we talk?"_

_Tobi gave her a huge grin and said. "Of course, Khorale-san!"_

_ _Khorale looked at him strangely. "Why are you-__?__" but Tobi shushed her.__

_ _"Shhh. Deidara-__senpai__ is listening right now! Tobi will take you to a safe place!" Tobi cheered. And before they vanished, Tobi called out "Tobi is a good boy, __senpai__, and Tobi will not reveal secrets!"__

_ _Deidara fumed__,__ and stepped away from the fake rock he was hiding __behind__. The rock melted into a bundle of clay__,__ and __shrank__ to fill Deidara's clay pouch. Tobi was acting suspicious, he knew. From the voice when they bumped in the hallway__,__ to the fact that Tobi could sense him even under his best disguise. Tobi was more than he __seemed,__ and Deidara promised himself that he would find __out __the truth.__

_ _Madara and Khorale appeared inside the box dimension (__W__hat I __call__ Madara's dimension__,__ since it's filled with cubes__.__)__,__ and Khorale began to explain.__

_ _"While I was talking to Pein, I got another flash of the future__,__" she said hurriedly. "Your Tobi cover will be busted soon after something major happens. I don't know the specific date, but the facade will crumble. You will not be at __the __base at that time__,__ so I advise you to write a note explaining all of it. I have no flash of you returning__,__ so you __will__ probably be in trouble__,__and__ you can't return to explain in person."__

_Madara nodded curtly. "I will." He dug up a piece of paper from his pocket_ (yes, the Akatsuki uniforms have pockets, they're on the inside)_. "Here. When it all happens, hand them this." Khorale nodded._

_"I think I should explain more about the fact of why I can't fight. You see, I'm just a clone. The real author is typing away right now to support the story. After all, if my real self's here, who would write this? And if I'm a clone, one hit__,__ and I will disappear. It's true that my real self __knows__ everything that __will__ happen, but when she created me__,__ she was very carefu__l __t__o keep that out of my memories. She said it would 'spice things up nicely__."_

_Madara sighed. "Alright, so you can't fight. You have to do something for the Akatsuki or they will not let you stay."_

_"I could be house-keeper." _

_"Hn," Madara shrugged, not bothering with an answer._

_The two of them reappeared in Madara's room. "Goodnight." said Khorale and she left the room._

_Madara __turned__ off the lights and slept peacefully, something that had not happened __in__ a long time._

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><p><em>(The next morning at the Akatsuki base)<em>

_ _"RISE AND SHINE__,__ EVERYBODY!" Tobi yelled as he ran into the kitchen. Kisame was making himself a peanut-butter sandwich, Sasori was doing morning exercises, Pein was reading the newspaper, and Khorale __was munching__ on a piece of toast.__

_"Tobi," Pein nodded and sipped a steaming cup of coffee._

_ _"Two more days__,__ and we'll seal the Sanbi!" Tobi was literally bouncing off the __walls__.__

_"Who gave the idiot sugar?" Tobi heard Deidara grumble sleepily from his room._

_"Tobi's going out! Saronara!" Tobi said and dashed away._

_Madara walked calmly through the streets of Ame, watching a speck of multicolored light descend down. People bowed before him, recognizing his outfit as on__e__ associated __with__ their precious god__._

_He paused. __A m__ulticolored light? Madara turned__,__ and decided to investigate. He reappeared in a clearing a moment later. Madara watched as the speck high in the sky got bigger__,__ and the air around it rippled. A humming noise got louder by the second__,__ and the temperature rose rapidly. Madara shielded himself__,__ and watche__d__ a__s the multicolored speck hit the ground and exploded. A shock-wave ripped outwards, invisible in the air but not to Madara's Sharingan. The air shimmered and twisted with energy__. __And then, there was nothing._

_FLASHBACK END_

Madara shook himself, and felt around the steel bars. He felt another jolt of pain passing through his body and winced. Just where the hell was he?

He felt the floor around him. It was smooth, and there were no cracks. Madara growled in frustration, and lit a fireball.

The problem was, instead of a huge fireball, he got a wisp of flame, barely enough to light up the place he was trapped in.

Madara glanced was inside a cage. He saw a seal on the bars. So he was kidnapped. Just great.

The seal dampened chakra, and sent a jolt of electricity to anyone touching the bars,which meant that even the strongest attacks would barely make a flicker.

"Shinra Tensei!" Madara yelled, and pushed the gravity release to maximum power. It was strong enough to level cities and flatten mountains, but it only made a small crater in the floor.

Panting heavily, Madara collapsed onto the cold floor. He had used all of his power, and it had barely made a _dent!_

The floor was already fixing itself, the crater grew smaller and shallower, until there was no trace that there was ever a mark there.

Madara felt his remaining chakra being sucked out of him. The cage was leeching off his chakra to repair the damage! Unfortunately, the cage sucked away more chakra than Madara could afford. Now, this would kill a normal person, but since Madara was immortal, he only fainted. Not that it was much better.

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><p>"Deidara."<p>

"Yes? un"

"Have you seen Tobi?"

"No." Deidara growled. "The idiot probably gotten lost somewhere."

Khorale nodded and walked away. Madara is capable of protecting himself, and she knew that the author won't let her main character die so quickly. Oh well, she might as well hand that note to Pein.

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><p>Madara wondered what the time was as he wandered the hallways of his mind. As his body was recovering from extreme chakra exhaustion, he might as well try figure things out.<p>

He was kidnapped by someone, for some reason. The enemy had taken him completely by surprise. He still didn't know what had happened. It took a LOT of stealth to sneak up on the great Madara Uchiha! And the person knew a lot about seals, as the one on the cage was a seal so advanced that only a Seal Master on the level of the Toad Sannin Jiraiya or the Yondaime Hokage could craft it. But he was sure it wasn't any of them.

Had anyone wondered where he had gone yet? Madara was sure that nobody at the base would be worried, since Tobi had been gone for a longer time in the past. But what time was it right now? He estimated it had been about three hours or so.

It would take more than that to concern the Akatsuki. Tobi had once been gone for five hours, and nobody had batted an eyelash. But they had to seal the Sanbi soon, so Pein would know that he wouldn't leave the base, except for an important reason.

Just who had captured him? Madara doubted it was any Konoha shinobi, as most of them didn't have enough power to restrain him. None of them could make that multicolored thing either. None of the other villages knew of his existence, or the fact that he was not dead. Most missing nin were quite friendly with the Akatsuki, and wouldn't dare even touch them. Orochimaru did not even dare step foot in Ame.

And what had caused his kidnapping? Madara counted several reasons inside his head. He was the founder of the Uchiha clan, he was the secret leader of the Akatsuki, he was the secret Mizukage for a while, and he was one of the most powerful men in the world.

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><p>"Just where is that idiot? It's been eight hours!" Hidan muttered<p>

"It is strange," Pein mused. "Konan, go around Ame, and scout for information."

"Hai."

"Wait!" Khorale said, running toward the Akatsuki members with a piece of paper in her hands. "He prepared a note in case this happened!" but Konan had already left.

"Show us," said Pein. "We'll tell Konan later."

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><p>Madara felt himself slowly return to consciousness, and groaned. Every part of his body ached, and his joints were stiff. He must have been like this for hours. Why hadn't anyone come to see him yet?<p>

The cage bars rattled, and a pile of food suddenly materialized from thin air. He sighed, and started to eat. The food was quite sweet, and it seemed like they knew about his sweet tooth. How had the food come in anyways?

...

Madara snapped his fingers and got an idea. If he used his intangibility to phase through the bars, he could escape! But that may not work, as the chakra dampening seal was still there.

He made himself intangible and counted. O-

Dammit! Only half a second!

Normally, it would have last up to five minutes, but it seemed that the seal was really, really powerful.

Madara sighed. Half a second was not nearly enough for escaping. He would have to wait and see what happened next.

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><p>Konan turned into paper, and flew up high in the air above Amegakure. She embedded each piece of paper with a part of her consciousness and spread out, each piece going in a different direction. She flew above the busy streets and the ninja academy, the huge crater and the people gathering arou-<p>

Wait, what?

Every part of Konan gathered, and pieces of paper folded back into her. She stepped towards the gathering crowd.

"Excuse me, but what happened here?"

The gathering people gasped at the sight of her. "God's angel!" they cried, bowing down.

"What happened here?" Konan repeated. "Did you see a man with an orange mask around here?"

"Yes, we have!" a ninja said, eager to please the 'angel'. "It was earlier this morning, and we saw him walking here. There was a strange speck in the distance that kept getting louder and closer. It made this crater, and the man disappeared in a flash of black."

"Can you tell me what the speck looked like?"

"No, it caught the sunlight, and was too bright."

They talked some more before Konan nodded and left. "Thank you for the information," she said, and disappeared in a swirl of paper.

She reappeared in Pein's office, where all six Paths and the Akatsuki were leaning forward to read a note.

"Leader-sama," she said, "I have returned."

Pein nodded. "Madara left a note explaining his identity to the rest of the Akatsuki. He explained that Khorale had foreseen trouble ahead, and so he was prepared."

Konan nodded. "I have gathered that, in the morning, Madara came across a speck of light that caused his current disappearance," she finished, and Pein looked at her strangely.

"Speck of light?" he asked incredulously. "Don't you have a better description of it?"

"They said it was like a comet shooting down, and was shimmering as it landed, but was too bright to fully see. It was noisy, and the temperature shot up. They also said that when it landed Madara disappeared in a flash of light."

"I still can't believe that cheerful little brat is the founder of the Uchiha!" Deidara groaned.

"True," said Sasori. "We had no idea of what his true personality was."

"PIZZA TIME!" yelled Hidan, bringing in a plate. It was night already, and was dinnertime.

The Akatsuki shuffled into the kitchen and started eating.

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><p>Madara tried many different ways to damage the cage, but each time a crack appeared it fixed itself.<p>

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he said,but instead of a huge multi-headed hellhound (one of his animal path summons) appearing, a puppy was chasing its tail. It looked at him adorably before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Madara's world spun as he fainted again, a huge amount of chakra drained from the summoning.

When he woke up, he noticed that the cage was larger than he remembered, and someone else was also in there, unconscious.

"Amaterasu!" Black flames sprang out and suspended in the air. Normally, the flames would last a week, but Madara calculated that it would only last five minutes here,though five minutes were enough. Madara finally got a look at the other person's face.

"Tsunade!"

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><p><strong> <strong>Next chapter: Naruto and Jirayia head for Amegakure, Tsunade and Madara got drunk<strong>**, and a battle between Akatsuki and Konoha!****

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><p><strong><strong>Here's a preview of the next chapter:<strong>**

_Madara read the note out loud, and Tsunade snorted. "UI? That could mean many things. Uchiha Itachi?"_

_"I REALLY doubt it was him."_

_"Umino Iruka?"_

_"Is that even possible?"_

_"Uchiha Izuna?"_

_"He's dead."_

_"I can't think of anyone else," said Tsunade, rubbing her head._


	2. Interlude: super duper birthday chapter

**Today is my birthday! I know, ten days away from Halloween, right? This chapter is special, so not even my beta-reader has read this before me posting!**

**I know I know... You're all waiting for chapter two... That'll come tomorrow. Oh, and for those who don't know who Hinote is, She will show up in later chapters.  
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><p>Interlude: The birthday that nobody forgot<p>

co-written by Khorale and Hinote.

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><p><em>So once upon a time, there lived a <em>**bird!** _No, not a bird. It's a _**rabbit****!**_ Goddamit **(peindammit) **Hinote could you stop messing with my story?_

**How about no?**

_So anyways there are a pair of _**big cute fuzzy feet** _alright, if that's how you play it... there are a pair of big cute fuzzy feet that **EATS EVERYONE!**_

_So... um... the big fuzzy feet that eats everyone, right? _**Yes. Now continue with the story. **_So the feet then ate Hinote _**And spits her back out and then ate Khorale.** _What! No, it then decided that Hinote was more delicious so it ate them both, so HA!_

**You meanie...**

_Yeah, so then the big fuzzy feet grew a body since it's weird if it's just feet _**that has mouths like DeiDei-kun's self-pleasuring ****hands!** _So the tongue kept licking the floor whenever it took a step **That's gross.**_ Yeah, it is.__

_So on with the story! _**My story!**_ No, you evil-person, it's MINE! And so the feet grew a body and _**Naruto-kun is created!**_ WHAT! But Naruto-kun don't have mouths oh his feet! _**This is fanfiction! No rules apply here.**

_Okaaaaay... moving on. So then Naruto **Ate everyone! **No he didn't. He _**Stomped on people**_ for fun and then _**attended your birthday party. **

_WTF?_

**So then Hinote, the queen of awesomeness **_more like dumbness, came out and killed everyone in the most sadistic manner. _**She then rid a bunny **_just what is your problem with bunnies? _**A****nd crushed Khorale beneath her foot. The End. **_Khorale them came to life and summoned the people-eating feet of Naruto and commanded it to eat Hinote AGAIN! _**Hinote escaped from hell and kicked Khorale's ass!**

_You want a challenge?_

**Bring it on!**

_Khorale made Hinote into a cookie for the dark side! _**Hinote got eaten by Chuck Norris **(AN: I was reading a few Chuck Norris jokes when I wrote this)** who roundhouse kicked Khorale to Canada! Where the polar bears lived! **_Polar bears don't live in Canada... So Khorale resurrected Hinote using Edo Tensei and killed her over and over again!_

**Hinote released the seal and returned to the underworld where she escaped and **_got killed by Khorale again _**but then Khorale got poisoned **_and went to find Tsunade who can cure it _**but she's currently kidnapped by the Itonami! **(AN: That information is classified, so don't ask. It will show up in later chapters, like Hinote)**  
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_She found Tsunade anyways. Rules don't apply to fanfiction, remember? _**I hate you.**_ The feeling's mutal._

**T**_H_**E **_E_**N**_D  
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><p>"So, how did you like it?" Khorale asked Hinote as they read their story over again.<p>

"A bit over-dramatic, a bit randomness, but otherwise okay." Hinote noted.

"Wanna show the others?"

"Sure."**  
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	3. Tsunade the Epic

****Did anyone like the interlude from yesterday? I hope so! The next interlude should be posted when Halloween comes. So anyways, welcome to chapter 2 of the Seasons of Change!  
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****Hey! Do you know that the reason I put myself into this fanfic is to give you guys a sneak ****peek ****at ****the future of the plot****?****! Ya know, I keep changing the whole plotline as I write to add in ideas and stuff like that****.**** Sometimes****,**** I have to go back to the beginning to start the whole story again! It's irritating, but at the same time****, it ****makes my chapters better.****

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><p>✿ Chapter 2: Tsunade the Epic ✿<p>

_Tsunade's epic adventure while drunk__.__ Madara __will__ never be the same again (probably)__._

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><p><em>When he woke up, he noticed that the cage was larger than he remembered<em>_,__ and someone else was also in here, unconscious._

_"Amaterasu!" Black flames sprang out and suspended in the air. Normally__,__ those flames would last a week, but Madara calculated that it would only last five minutes here__,__t__hough five minutes __were__ enough. Madara finally got a look __at__ the other person's face._

_"Tsunade!"_

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><p>Tsunade was not having a good day.<p>

First was the report of the three-tails being came the report of the true identity of Tobi, who turned out to be Madara Uchiha.

She drank more sake, and scribbled furiously on the mountain of paperwork.

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto barreled into her office, scattering paperwork everywhere.

"Brat!" she exclaimed, "stop calling me that, and you've scrambled my paperwork!"

"Hehehe, sorry Baa-chan," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But why can't you use shadow clones for paperwork?"

...

...

...

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Um, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade continued banging her head against the table. "Why haven't I thought of that before?" she groaned.

Out popped several kage bunshin popped out, and started attacking the ever-increasing pile of paperwork.

"So, brat, thank you for the suggestion. Now, how can I repay you?"

Naruto grinned. "Although I wanted ramen, I think that information is more important." Tsunade nodded.

"Alright, the Akatsuki have just captured the three-tails, but the sealing is on-hold for now."

"Huh? Why?"

"One of their members has disappeared. His name was Tobi. We've just found that his real name is Madara Uchiha."

"Uchiha?" Naruto asked in shock. "Then he's related to Sasuke!"

"He was the real leader behind the Akatsuki, and Sasuke's ancestor. Apparently, he was behind the Kyuubi attack too."

Naruto clenched his fists, and involuntarily glanced at his own stomach. "The bastard," he growled.

"As I was saying, our spy in Amegakure reported his disappearance. How he disappeared was a mystery. It was not a jutsu of any sort, nor a transportation device. Witnesses reported spotting a multicolored spark making a crater, just before vanishing into thin air, both the spark and Madara."

"Can I go investigate?" Naruto begged. "The person involved is the boss of the Akatsuki, so I'm in on this whether you want me to be or not!" he shouted stubbornly.

"I'm worried about you, brat. You are going into a village where the Akatsuki were rumored to be hiding in. You need protection, simple as that. So I'm gonna assign Jiraiya with you to make sure you don't get into any trouble."

"Hey! It's not my fault that trouble always finds me, dattebayo!"

"Whatever, brat. Now, go outside and wait for the pervert."

Naruto nodded, and leap out of the window.

Tsunade groaned. "Why can't anyone use the door?" and bent down to reach for more sake.

Shizune approached her. "Tsunade-sama," she said disapprovingly. "No doing work when you're drunk."

Tsunade waved to her clones, and they made their own clones. The numbers kept multiplying, until the number of clones matched up with the number of papers.

"Theeeere," said Tsunade sluggishly. "Allll dooone. Now, let me sleep."

Shizune left without a word.

Neither of them noticed a multicolored spark descending toward the Hokage's tower at high speed.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Ero-sennin!"<p>

"Would you stop calling me that, brat?"

Naruto shook his head. "If you stop being a pervert!"

"I'M NOT! I AM A _SUPER PERVERT!"_ Naruto face-faulted.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Tsunade!"<p>

Tsunade's eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, she caught a glimpse of an orange spiral mask. "Madara!"

The Uchiha sighed. It was only a matter of time before his identity got discovered. Though they figured it out much faster than the previous timeline, for some reason. Oh well, what's done is done, and there's nothing Madara could do to stop it. The Amaterasu flames flickered and then died, plunging both of them into total darkness.

"What are you doing here?" They asked each other at the same time. "Where are we?" Tsunade demanded

"I have no idea to both of your questions, so stop asking," Madara snapped. "What are YOU here?"

"I don't know! I was doing paperwork!"

Both of them fell silent.

"I think I need a drink," Tsunade muttered. Madara nodded in agreement. To their surprise, two bottles of sake materialized instantly.

"Whoa, nice room service." This certainly was a development. It seems that the cage grants wishes.

"Can there be some light in here?" Madara asked, hopeful it wasn't only limited to food.

(A moment later.)

"ARRAGH! MY EYES!" Oops, forgot that the Sharingan is very sensitive. And Madara happens to have the Eternal version of it, so he can't turn it off...

Madara was having a really bad day.

* * *

><p>"Zetsu, Khorale, head toward Konoha to gather information. There has been a disturbance lately. Apparently, their Kage has disappeared the same way Madara did. Remember, don't engage them in a fight, wear normal clothes, and-" Pein was interrupted by several voices outside the room.<p>

"GIVE ME THE REMOTE CONTROL, YOU OVERGROWN SUSHI!"

"NEVER!"

"(BEEP)ing (BEEP)er (BEEP) (BEEP) (BEEP), you (BEEP)ing of (BEEP). SHUT THE (BEEP) UP!"

"HA HA, SUCKERS! THE REMOTE'S MINE!"

"YOU GIVE THAT BACK, (BEEPING)ING (BEEP) (BEEP)ER! OR I'LL (BEEP)ing RIP THOSE (BEEP)ing (BEEP) OUTTA YOU!"

The occupants of the room winced at the language. Pein sweat-dropped.

"Ahem," he continued awkwardly. "You may leave."

* * *

><p>"Ero-sennin! Are we there yet?"<p>

"This is the (-insert large number here-) time you've said that! From here to Ame is a three-day trip!"

"Are we there yet?"

"BRAT!"

* * *

><p>After their third bottle of sake, both Madara and Tsunade were quite red in the face.<p>

"Another bottle!" Tsunade slurred, and grasped one from thin air.

Madara was singing... in falsetto, loudly.

"IN SLEEEEEEP, HE SAAAAANG TO MEEEE. IN DREEEEEEAMS, HE CAAAAAME."

Tsunade was gulping down yet another bottle in record time.

"THAAAT VOOOOOICE WHHIIIICH CAAAAALLS TO ME, AND SPEEEEAKS MY NAAAAAME."

Tsunade slowly put down her bottle and watched Madara, trying to find a way to shut him up.

"AAAND DO I DREEEEEAM AGAAAAAIN? FOR NOOOOW I FIIIIND."

Tsunade inched toward Madara slowly.

"THE PHAAAAAANTOM OF THE- AAAAAACK!" Madara chocked, and toppled, Tsunade's ridiculously strong arms restricting his windpipe.

"Stop singing, NOW!" She demanded. Madara could only nod meekly.

_'She's scarier than my decreased wife...'_ he thought nervously.

* * *

><p>Khorale signed the papers for visiting Konoha, and entered. Zetsu couldn't because of his bizarre appearance (who could ignore a half white half black man with green hair and a plant surrounding him?), and ninjas could detect henge, so she had to do this alone.<p>

She gulped.

Strolling through town, she came across the demolished Hokage Tower. Smoke was still rising up, and many people were gathered around, chattering and gossiping about what may have possibly happened.

"Excuse me, sir. What has happened here?" Khorale asked Kakashi, who was at the crime scene, investigating.

"I don't know much, but even if I did, the information is classified."

"What about the Hokage?"

"She's... a bit busy right now."

"Right."

"Say, I haven't seen you around here before," Kakashi said, curious.

"Um, sorry, Gotta go," Khorale paled and dashed off, forgetting she entered here legally. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, and silently followed after her.

Khorale made a run to the gate, but Kakashi had already spotted Zetsu. "Stop, Akatsuki!"

They're in deep trouble now.

* * *

><p>"Tobi is a good boy!"<p>

More sake had brought out the so-called 'facade' of Madara. Now the Uchiha had been switching between personalities.

"Mooooore saaaaake..."

"Yay! Tobi likes sake!" Tobi took his mask off (Madara didn't, because he did not like anyone seeing his face, and so had spun the mask upside down, and drank from the eye hole.), and started chugging down the alcoholic drink.

"Saaaay, Tooooobi," Tsunade said with a drunken grin. "You look pretty haaaandsoooome without your maaaask."

Tobi shifted to Madara, and stopped talking in the third person. "Yeeeees, one of the reason I weeeear my maaaask is thaaat, without it, I woooould be mobbed by faaaaangiiiirls! They are a menace theeeese daaays!"

Tsunade nodded. "I knoooow exactly what you meaaan. I haaave a girl naaamed Saaaakura who used to be one of thooose thiiings, but she's better now."

Madara turned around. The other half of his face that had been previously shadowed appeared.

"Oooooh... you got a Riiiiin'negaaaan! Hooow'd you get thaaat?"

"Tobi didn't get it, but Madara did!" Tobi shifted back to Madara. "I gooot it froooom Nagaaaaato!" he declared proudly.

"Does thaaaat mean poor Nagaaaaato is dead?"

"Nope! Tobi's a good boy! Tobi wouldn't hurt little Nagaaaaato-kun!"

"So, how did you get the Rin'negan then?" (I think it would be easier if I stopped their slurring. My spelling-check is going crazy here!)

"I'm from the future!" Tsunade stared wide-eyed at Madara, who simply shrugged, wobbling over to get another bottle of sake.

"I wanna sleep now," Madara yawned, and lay on his stomach, snoring.

* * *

><p>"Zetsu! Inform the others! We've got an incoming!"<p>

"What about you?"

"I'm just a clone. I'm sure that, if I dispel, I'm easily replaceable." Said Khorale. Zetsu nodded and left.

"So, you're just a clone? Or are you bluffing?" asked Kakashi, walking toward Khorale in a threatening manner.

"Find out yourself, if you could catch me!" Khorale yelled, dashing off. Kakashi gave chase, and the two of them leapt through the trees.

Kakashi did several jutsu, which Khorale dodged easily. Until... "Chidori!"

"Uh-oh," she said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke as the lightning attack struck her.

"She was telling the truth after all," Kakashi said. But with another puff of smoke, Khorale was back.

"That hurt..." she mumbled. "I'm another clone, since you dispelled the first one. Listen, I'm just here to talk!"

"Oh, really?" Kakashi's eyes (Yup, his Sharingan's out now.) narrowed. "And why should I trust you?

"You should. I've got information to exchange with of our members has disappeared too, yesterday."

"Our Hokage is missing. There was a loud, buzzing noise before the Hokage Tower bent in half and toppled. The Godaime was nowhere in sight."

"Our leader was outside. He never came back, and there was a crater in the forest. Witnesses spotted a speck of light descending down at a high speed before our leader disappeared."

"Thank you for the information, but you're still the enemy, so we can't just let you leave."

Khorale guessed that would happen. The rookie ten (Naruto went to Ame, and Sasuke's on the run, remember?) circled the Akatsuki member. "Hey! I'm just a clone here! I will just disappear if you hit me!"

"We don't want that, do we?" The rest of the Akatsuki had arrived.

* * *

><p>"Ugh, my head." Everything was spinning. Hangovers were such a dreadful thing. "Owww, can somebody turn off this ridiculously bright light? My eyes are going blind."<p>

"Deal with it.." Tsunade tried to move, but found that she was trapped under somebody. "Move, Madara."

"Turn off the light first."

"Fine," and all was nice and dark again.

Madara shifted away from the awkward position, and sat up. "We've got to break out of here somehow."

"You have a legendary doujutsu! Use them!" Now let me remind you: Tsunade was drunk when Tobi took off his mask, she isn't going to remember much, and she did not remember the Rin'ngan Madara apparently took from Nagato.

"I can't! Last time, I would have died if I wasn't immortal!"

"So, tell me everything you know about this cage."

"Alright. It dampens chakra, and one of my strongest attacks barely made a dent. It also leeches off chakra to repair the damage. My kuchiyose no jutsu only summoned chibi animals, and they disappeared in an instant."

Tsunade nodded. "I could try my slug summoning jutsu, and give a message to Katsuyu the Slug Boss. She could do a reverse summoning."

"But that would leave me here," Madara pointed out.

"True. I could only leave a message then."

"I wonder how our subordinates are doing."

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet?"<p>

"..."

* * *

><p>The Akatsuki were winning.<p>

Even without Khorale's help, they were S-ranked criminals, after all. And jonin were only A-rank.

It was obvious who would win. S-rank is a rank for Kage-level shinobi and higher. No regular ninja stood a chance.

Nobody could, unless it was Naruto. That boy could do the impossible, and make it look easy.

But Naruto wasn't there right now. So, as I said, the Akatsuki were winning.

Hidan swung his three-bladed scythe, cackling manically across the field as he killed multiple shinobis on each of the strikes. Kakuzu let out his tentacle monsters. Konan dissolved into a pile of paper, only helping when her comrades actually needed it. Sasori stood in his Hiruko puppet, scorpion tail lashing out and stinging anybody that came his way. Deidara stood on a clay bird, randomly dropping C1 bombs, as to not kill any of his comrades and injure the enemies if only slightly. Kisame summoned sharks, and created a few water prisons to trap people and feed the sharks. Itachi simply stood there, killing only the ones who attacked him, (Still kind of loyal to Konoha). Khorale just sat up on a tree and watched.

The Akatsuki weren't even fighting at full power, and yet, the Konoha shinobi were losing badly.

Boy, were they screwed.

"Enough fighting," said Pein. Even though he wasn't the real leader, he was still the official one. "Both of our sides have lost someone, so why are we fighting against each other? We need a temporary truce until we get the problem sorted out. We have a common enemy at the are we thinning our forces to make things easier for them?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. "That makes sense," he said finally. "Alright, we'll have a truce for the moment, but after this mess, we're back to being enemies."

"Agreed." And so, the two groups of ninja left.

* * *

><p>"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Tsunade poured enough of her chakra to summon a boss, but only a little newborn barely opening its eyes appeared. "I see what you mean," she told Madara.<p>

Madara nodded. "We'll wait until you get your chakra back, then pour every bit of it inside the summoning circle. I'll help, or else the drain would be too great, and you're not immortal."

"Well, I'm bored." A note fell out of the air, and into Madara's lap. He picked it up curiously.

To our two prisoners:

Some entertainment, and a view of the outside.

UI

A screen appeared the smooth section of the wall.

Madara read the note out loud, and Tsunade snorted. "UI? That could mean many things. Uchiha Itachi?"

"I REALLY doubt it was him."

"Umino Iruka?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Uchiha Izuna?"

"He's dead."

"I can't think of anyone else," said Tsunade, rubbing her head.

"It's alright," Madara nodded. "We'll watch it later, right now concentrate on escaping."

* * *

><p>"FINALLY! I thought this trip would never end," Jiraiya moaned.<p>

"We're back!" a voice cried out jovially. Both Jiraiya and Naruto's eyes widened. It was the Akatsuki!

"Hide! Quickly!" the toad sannin gestured toward the trees.

The Akatsuki continued walking, until one member (Khorale) stopped. "Come out, we all know you're here."

That was a bluff. None of the members had detected the sannin, but since Khorale knew about the future, they trusted her judgment.

Jiraiya jumped down from his hiding place. "I will not let you take Naruto."

Khorale shrugged. "We're not going to. At least, not until after this whole fiasco ends."

"Does it have something to do with your missing member, dattebayo?" Naruto demanded.

Pein nodded. "Your village and our organization is having an uneasy truce until this whole mess blows over."

Both eyes widened. "WHAT?" Jiraiya cried, "Tsunade would never have let this happen!"

"Unfortunately, Tsunade also went missing after you left. The Hokage Tower was naught but a crater now."

"Baa-chan," Naruto murmured.

"We don't trust you enough for you to see our hideout, so you'll go check into one of the hotels. There's one down this street, around the corner. Then turn left."

Jiraiya nodded, and turned to leave, but then halted. "Yahiko, is that you?" he asked Pein (Deva Path).

Deva shook his head. "Yahiko's dead. We're Pein." He signaled the other Peins to go to the hideout. "We will talk later," he said to Jiraiya.

Naruto then broke the awkward silence (a gay baby has been born! =D). "Hey, if we switch 'n' and 'i' from 'Peins', you get the word 'penis.'"

The Akatsuki stared at the Kyuubi container, disturbed. "... Have you been hanging around Sai?" Jiraiya asked finally after a moment of silence.

* * *

><p>A short nap later, Tsunade was ready to try the summoning jutsu again.<p>

Madara held onto Tsunade (In a non-perverted way. It's NOT romance. The pairings are all canon.) and channeled ¼ of his chakra and blended it into hers.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" Tsunade yelled, and with a puff of smoke, a messenger slug appeared.

"Hi," it said. "Whatcha doing, Tsunade-sama?" it asked.

"Tell Kakashi that I'm unharmed, and don't know our location-" Before she could finish, the slug poofed back.

"Because of the chakra dampening seal, summoning will last only about three minutes," Madara said. Both leaders were fatigued, and wanted nothing more than to just sleep.

* * *

><p>(In the Sound Village)<p>

Orochimaru was reading a report from Kabuto. "Kukuku..." he chuckled "Two of my greatest threats have suffered a great blow. We will attack Konoha again soon."

* * *

><p>(Back in Konoha)<p>

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Kakashi?" Iruka asked worriedly. "Those are the people who are after Naruto! We can't trust them!"

Kakashi sighed. "I have no choice. We're in chaos right now, and our shinobi were no match for the Akatsuki. We don't need any more enemies, and especially not _now._"

(Somewhere Else in the Village)

Sakura ran across the street. "Neji! Tenten! Lee! The rookies are having a meeting right now."

"Yosh! (-Insert large rant about youth.-)" Lee babbled.

"We'll come," Neji said, and Tenten whacked Lee across the head. "If it can get him to shut up."

The four of them arrived at an abandoned warehouse.

"Alright, I brought them here. Let's get the meeting started!" Sakura called, and the rest of the rookies tumbled down the stairs.

"Eeek!" Hinata cried, as she landed on top Kiba in an awkward position. Kiba had a perverted grin on his face.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji called out. "Are you okay?"

"Ever since Naruto kicked his ass, he had a 180 degree change of opinion about Hinata," Tenten commented, receiving a glare from Neiji.

"Okay, we're starting the meeting," said Sakura. "Tsunade-sama is gone, possibly from the same person or group that has also taken one of the members of that group that was after Naruto. We should share what we know."

"Um, I think I saw what happened," Hinata said nervously. She had gotten more confident over the years, to the point where she only faint or stutter when near Naruto. "I was practicing with my Byakugan on that day, and happened to, um, glance at the Hokage Tower. I saw a spark that was rapidly changing color heading toward Hokage-sama. It neared her, and she disappeared. Then the tower shook and collapsed."

"Thank you, Hinata," Sakura told her. "Tenten."

"I don't know much. I just saw smoke rising from the ground, and ran toward the scene. I thought it was some fire jutsu, but I checked it out anyways when the smoke didn't vanish. I then saw the crater, and the people gathering around it."

"And Neji?"

"I saw nothing of importance that day. The only thing that happened was what Tenten concluded," Neji said flatly.

"Okay then... How about you, Kiba?"

"Well, Akamaru smelled something strange, alien even. It was unnatural. Not evil, just... different. Kind of clean and rusty tinge to it. Slight smell of burning plastic for some reason.. So, we ran toward the source, and saw the crater."

"And Ino?"

"I spotted a spark as I was heading for the tower to give my report of the mission Tsunade-sama assigned to us, but before I headed inside the tower, it just fell over."

Sakura nodded. "I was helping Tsunade-sama when I saw the spark entering. It emitted a buzzing noise, and the tempature grew hotter. As it neared Tsunade-sama, she disappeared, and a metallic sound was heard. Then the tower started shaking, and toppled. I escaped the rubble without any injuries."

"I have some clues as to where Hokage-sama went," Shino said quietly. The others whirled around to face him. "I planted a bug on Hokage-sama, so that if she was in danger, I would be the first to know. Her bug is currently in an unknown location. Tsunade is unharmed at the moment, and another person also resides in the same place."

"I did hear that one of the Akatsuki went missing," Ino said. "That must be him. Though at least he didn't hurt Tsunade-sama."

"How about you, Shikamaru?"

"I was heading home, and Ino was giving her mission report to the Hokage, I noticed the spark, but decided it was too troublesome, so I went the other way."

The rookies sweat-dropped. "A-alright. Chouji?"

"I was in a fast-food restaurant when the ground shook. The customers and the cooks all ran outside, and I was hungry, so I went into the kitchen and ate everything."

Cue another sweat-drop.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Tsunade."<p>

"What?"

"I noticed a bug on you."

Tsunade ruthlessly squashed it, then looked at it closely. "I'M SORRY SHINO!" she suddenly wailed.

"Keep it quiet, woman!"

* * *

><p>The Akatsuki arrived at the base.<p>

"A day without Tobi is peaceful indeed, un," said Deidara.

"Though it's getting boring without him," said Hidan. "The little (BEEP)ing (BEEP) is quite a (BEEP) (BEEP) and annoying."

"Why are you still calling him Tobi?" Sasori said, though he wasn't really interested in the conversation.

"I never saw his 'badass side,' so Tobi's still a suitable name for him, un."

"Hey, look, what is this?" Kakuzu yelled, holding up a laptop. "Did any one of you buy this?" he asked, eyes narrowing at the price-tag.

The Akatsuki all shook their heads, except for Khorale. "I'm not from here, remember? So I have my own money." Kakuzu calmed down.

"Now," Khorale continued, "I'm going to show you a wonderful thing called 'YouTube," she grinned sadistically.

* * *

><p>"Orochimaru-sama, when will the invasion start?"<p>

"Tomorrow," the snake sannin stated.

He headed towards his own room, when a multicolored spark blocked his way.

"Shit."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Orochimaru arrives at the Cage, the Akatsuki watched YouTube, and the mysterious organization (Itonami, as you may know from the interlude) are on the move!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Previewspoilers for the next chapter:**

_"Holy shit!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "What are the Akatsuki WATCHING?"_

_"Why is the Kyuubi brat also there anyways?" Madara asked, abandoning his 'Tobi voice'. Orochimaru looked puzzled at this, but shrugged it off as Tobi's weirdness._

_"Since when does Jiraiya watch the computer together with S-rank criminals?" Tsunade was stunned._


	4. Interlude: What happens when the Akatsuk

**Orochimaru's birthday today! I shall embarrass the all mighty Akatsuki!**

**Orochimaru: a dream coming true!**

**Khorake: may your soul rest in peace, my dear snake.**

* * *

><p>interlude: What happens when the Akatsuki gets drunk.<p>

Pein groaned.

He had a MASSIVE hangover and felt like he had to throw up.

"Ugh..."

Beside him, another person stirred. Finally realizing they are both naked, Pein blushed furiously and scrambled away from a still sleeping Kisame. "AAAAAH What are you DOING here?"

The shark-nin's eyes fluttered open as he surveyed the room and the naked and angry Pein.

The first thing that came to his mind was, "Leader-sama? Doesn't it hurt when you got piercings down... You know, _there_?"

Pein blushed another few shades of red, almost reaching the color of the hair on his real body. "What are you doing in my bed, Kisame?" he asked, glaring. A few hints of pink still remained on his cheeks.

"Beats me." Kisame shrugged. "All I remember was getting drunk last night and..." realization dawned on both ninja's eyes.

"Well, I wonder how the others are doing?

* * *

><p>"Hidan."<p>

Snore.

""Hidan. Wake up."

No answer.

Itachi stopped trying to wake Hidan up and settled on trying to find some clothes.

There were none. The closet, The bathroom, not even under the bed! Just what had they been DOING last night?

Itachi gave a mental sigh and covered certain... Bits, with a blanket.

And that was when Hidan awoke. "HOLY (BEEP) Itachi! What did you (BEEP) ing DO?"

"Hn." Itachi shrugged, searching his fuzzy memory of last night. "Last night we got... Married."

"What the (BEEP)?" Hidan screamed. Itachi pointed towards a gleaming certificate on a desk, then gestured at their hands.

Hidan looked down and cursed. Both of them were wearing rings. Their usual akatsuki dress-code ring, and another one made out of gold and a dimond in the middle.

"Kakuzu is SO going to (BEEP)ing have my head for this. The rings must have caused a fortune.)

"Hn."

"JASHIN (BEEP)ING DAMMIT! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE THAN GRUNT ALL THE (BEEP)ING TIME?"

"I'm pregnant."

"WHAT!"

"You told me to say something."

...

...

"So... Are you (BEEP)ing pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Holy shit."

* * *

><p>"Tobi was a good boy!" said person wailed as he ran from an angry -and naked- Sasori.<p>

Tobi was completly naked save his orange swirly mask and Sasori was out of Hiruko and his true body for all to see.

"Did you do anything to me while I 'm asleep?" the furious puppet master hissed as the two of them ran in circles inside Tobi's room.

"TOBI DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I SWEAR!"

"Then why did I remember you doing things to me last night?"

"NO! THAT WASN'T TOBI! IT'S THE ALCOHOL DOING IT ALL!"

* * *

><p>"Psst. Wake up, Kakuzu." a heavily-blushing Zetsu peeked out from a firmly closed fly-trap.<p>

The money-obsessed old man stirred. "are we under attack?" he asked.

"even worse." Black Zetsu moaned. The cannibal promptly closed the fly-trap around him, "we're naked. In a bed together."

Two plus two equals four. It didn't take long for Kakuzu to figure out what happened and he let out a few cu ss words he learnt from Hidan.

"My innocence was tainted by a PLANT!" Zetsu gavemKakuzu an odd stare.

"It happened before. My mother, in fact, was a cauliflower."

"Was?"

"I ate her. My father too."

* * *

><p>Warm.<p>

The pillows are so soft... He wanted to sleep more. But there was somebody calling to him, urging for him to wake up.

Deidara doesn't want to. The mattress he lay on was soooo soft... he sighed and snuggled closer to it only to feel a... Bump?

The person who called to him was shaking him now. "what, un?" Deidara asked irratably but stopped as he eyed what was in front of him and blushed heavily with a few drops of nosebleed.

Konan. Naked.

Both of them screamed.

* * *

><p>Athe others rushed into Deidara's room.<p>

All of them are naked.

Konan looked at them and screamed some more.

Pein feel another headache coming on, especially when Itachi told everybody he was pregnant.

Tobi fainted.


	5. Help! We're stuck in a room with a sugar

**Okay, ****s****o****,**** that mysterious little organization will appear in this chapter! They aren't being described****,**** 'cause you can't know who they are yet. But I'm droppin' some hints. Yes, in the manga they are dead****,**** but since this is fanfiction, I made them come back to life! Muahahaha!**

**I did that because I hate creating OCs****,**** and so****,**** there ****is**** only one in the organization to balance things out (Well****,**** the ****shinobi**** got Khorale, ****didn't**** they?). Her name is Hinote, the complete opposite of Khorale.**

**PS****.****L****ast chapter****,**** there's a hint on who UI might be. Search for it! **

**PPS I keep mixing IU and UI up! Its the same person and I'M having a bit if a mix-up on the placement of first and last name.  
><strong>

**-Khorale**

* * *

><p>✿ Chapter 3: Hepl! We are stuck in a room with a sugar high manic!✿<p>

_Can the two caged __Kages__ survive with their sanity intact in the company of Tobi?_

* * *

><p><em>"Tomorrow," the snake sannin stated.<em>

_He headed towards his own room, when a multicolored spark blocked his way._

_"Shit."_

* * *

><p>"What's YouTube?" asked Kisame curiously.<p>

"It's where people make a video and upload it onto the internet." The Akatsuki still looked confused. It looked like Khorale forgot to explain to them what technology actually was.

"Never mind," Khorale sighed, and started searching for funny Akatsuki videos. "Aha! This is called 'Pein's Jar of Dirt.'"

Pein twitched.

Khorale clicked the start button. A cartoon version of Deva Path Pein appeared on the screen. Everyone erupted into laughter.

_"Come to negotiate, eh, ya swabby git? Well__,__ look what I got!" _the cartoon Pein said.

_"I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt!" _he sang.

Kisame snickered. "I totally got that quote." (AN: it's from 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End')

The cartoon Pein repeated that a few times. _"And guess what's inside it?" _

"Dirt," everybody said at once, laughing.

"How did you know?" Deva asked sarcastically.

"Because chibi-you just basically mentioned it?" said Sasori, equally sarcastic.

The cartoon Pein sang the two lines another dozen times, and kept doing this weird little dance thingy. Everyone was rolling on the ground, laughing too hard for them to get up.

In the background, the other cartoon versions of the Akatsuki (including Tobi) were sweat-dropping at cartoon Pein's antics as he ran around back and forth, clutching that jar of dirt and singing.

"Wait," said Kisame, pausing the clip. "Is that a _mudkip_ following him_?_" (Pokemon reference)

Konan nodded. "I saw it too." They both shrugged, and continued the video.

Cartoon Pein got stars in his eyes as he clutched the jar of dirt, still singing and looking adorable. The real Akatsukis made "Awww, so cute!" noises. Deva's eyes twitched. The other Peins just laughed at the unfortunate main body.

_"I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt!"_ cartoon Pein sang to cartoon Sasori, who was sweat-dropping. The real Sasori was doing the same. _"And guess what's inside it?"_

Cartoon Deidara and cartoon Hidan was watching with WTF? looks, as cartoon Pein ran around, still clutching his precious jar.

_"The captain seems to be a little strange, eh?"_ cartoon Deidara asked.

_"..."_ said cartoon Hidan, just as cartoon Pein smashed him into the wall with a frying pan. He then hit cartoon Deidara on the head with the jar of dirt.

"I would have paid to see that happen here," said Kakuzu, chortling. (Kakuzu, PAY for something? THE WORLD IS ENDING!)

_"Is jar of dirt going to help?"_ cartoon Pein said slowly to himself.

_"If ya don't want it, give it back!"_ said Zetsu.

"Ah, so that's where he got it from," said the real Zetsu.

_"...NO!" _cartoon Pein yelled, and ran away, still singing that annoying song.

The cartoon Pein ran across the screen and back repeatedly, multiple jars of dirt slowly raining down.

"That's (BEEP)ing stupid!" Hidan said, as he watched cartoon Pein's little dance.

And then cartoon Konan popped up, a mad gleam in her eyes and a frying pan in hand. _"__Enough__!"_

Cartoon Pein watched helplessly as the frying pan descended down to smash his head. Upon the impact, the screen went black. The Akatsuki got up and started laughing their heads off.

"Shut up," said Deva, annoyed.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't ME," said the Asura Path, grinning. "This is the first time I'm glad I'm not the main body."

The other Peins agreed.

* * *

><p>Madara and Tsunade were conversing about politics when they heard a thump in the cage. Glancing up, they saw somebody lying face-down on the floor of the cage. There was no light in the cage, due to the sensitivity of Madara's eyes, so they couldn't see who it was.<p>

"Amaterasu!" said Madara, as the person was clearly unconscious so they wouldn't see. Black flames sprang out and illuminated the entire cage, which had increased in size to contain another person.

"…Is it just me, or is Orochimaru lying there in front of me?" Tsunade said, stunned. They had flipped the person over, and got a good view of him.

"It's not just you," said Madara, who was equally surprised. The incidents were starting to form a pattern. "Hey, Tsunade."

"Wha?" Tsunade asked, tearing her eyes away from Orochimaru's unmoving form.

"I'm starting to see a pattern between the kidnapping incidents. Think about it; what are the things all three of us have in common?"

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrow. "Well, I'm a Senju and you're an Uchiha, but I don't know what clan Orochimaru came from."

Madara shook his head. "It's not that. Remember our roles in the shinobi world."

"What's that got to do with this? Oro-teme here is the leader of Otogakure, I'm Hokage, and you're the- …_O__h._ Oh. I get it now."

"By arriving here, Orochimaru has confirmed my suspicions. The enemy is taking the leaders of the shinobi lands hostage so that they can take over the world." He snorted. "Wish I'd have thought of that."

"So, when the strongest shinobi of the lands are missing, everyone will be in chaos. That's how they're going to take over," Tsunade gasped.

Orochimaru stirred. The black flames winked out of existence, and Madara had to use Amaterasu again , though he had to put it somewhere Orochimaru could not see but still illuminating the cage dimly.

Madara hurriedly put on his mask, to which Tsunade looked at him questioningly. "Why are you putting it on?"

"He's waking up! Even though Orochimaru used to be in the Akatsuki, he only knew me as Tobi! And I'm sure the news of my identity only reached Konoha, because we destroyed all of the spies from Orochimaru in Ame and somehow missed one of yours," Madara said hurriedly.

"Orochimaru used to be in the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked incredulously, eyes bugging out.

"Yeah," Madara nodded.

"Ow..." Orochimaru moaned, propping himself up into a sitting position. "What in the world hit me?"

"OROCHI-SAN!" Tobi yelled in his ears. Orochimaru winced, and scooted away from the hyperactive lollipop-masked man.

"Oro-teme," Tsunade said curtly.

"Tsunade-hime, how nice to see you again," said Orochimaru, sneering.

"Don't fight! Tobi's warning you!" Tobi cried, bouncing up and down. Orochimaru twitched.

"Why is this idiot here?" he asked in irritation.

"That's because he's M-" Tobi cut her off by covering her mouth. "Shh! Tsu-hime!" he chirped, ignoring a curious-looking Orochimaru.

"TSU-HIME SAID NOTHING! TOBI'S HONEST!"

"Shut up. I'm getting a migraine."

"OKAY!"

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

There was a silence between the three of them for a while. (Another gay baby was born!)

"So... do you have any idea why we're here?" Orochimaru said, attempting to start a conversation.

"TOBI HAS A THEORY! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY! BELIEVE IT!"

The two kages looked at Tobi, disturbed.

"Never imitate the English dub version of the Kyuubi brat," Orochimaru stated. "In fact, don't you dare act ANY way like him in ANY way, you got that?"

"TOBI WILL!"

"He's like a mischievous but obedient puppy," Tsunade sighed. Tobi tilted his head to the side, looking adorable.

"So, Tobi has a theory?" Orochimaru looked at Tsunade questioningly. Tobi nodded eagerly. "TOBI DID! TOBI DID! TOBI THINKS THAT SOMEBODY WANTS A GROUP HUG!"

Tsunade smacked her forehead. "What an idiot... Okay, so here are my-" Tobi pouted "-theories. Somebody's out to take over the world, and he/she/they are kidnapping leaders so that it will land the elemental countries in a huge mess and make their take-over easier."

"So, why is the brain-damaged idiot here?"

"HEY! TOBI'S A GOOD BOY!"

"Like I said, brain-damaged."

Madara glared at the snake man behind his mask, Sharingan flashing threateningly, shifting into Mangekyou and back again.

Tsunade saw it and twitched, but Orochimaru had his back turned against the masked man, so he didn't see.

"I don't know, actually. He was here before me." Orochimaru turned towards Tobi.

"Tobi, why are you here? You aren't exactly the most powerful of the Akatsuki."

_'Oh__,__ if only he knew__,__'_ Madara snorted mentally at the irony of it all. _'He would be chasing me for my __S__haringan, the most powerful version of it all. At least he died early in the other timeline.'_ Outwardly, he said "BUT OROCHI-SAN WAS BEING MEAN TO TOBI EARLIER, SO TOBI WON'T TELL!"

"Dammit kid, (Madara laughed mentally) you're going to tell, or I'll-"

"Now, now, Oro-teme, it's TOBI. He gets into just about every mess there is. How could he possibly avoid this one?" Tsunade said, cutting him off. Madara quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"How did you know about this anyways?"

"OOOH! LET'S WATCH THIS BIG SCREEN!" Tobi yelled, pointing at the screen (mentioned in previous chapter).

"Sure."

A note fluttered down from thin air. Orochimaru picked it up, and began to read.

A note to our captives,

To activate the view to the outside, just tap the screen anywhere. It is a view to the outside world. 

U.I.

"Who's U.I?" Orochimaru asked, confused. Tsunade face-palmed, having forgotten that Orochimaru hadn't seen the first note.

"TOBI THINKS IT'S UMINO IRUKA!"

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p>"Who wants to watch another clip?" Khorale asked the group. Pein pouted a bit, but nodded anyways. The rest of the Akatsuki were jumping up and down eagerly.<p>

"I want one on Sasuke," Itachi said in monotone.

"Well, I found this: Sasuke and the 'and then' Problem'. So... enjoy!"

An old lady on the screen said something in Japanese.

_"Yeah, I'd like to place an order__,__" _said Sasuke.

_"What would you like?"_

_"I'd like uh... three orders of garlic chicken."_

_"And then?"_

_"And three orders of rice."_

_"And then?"_

_"Annnnd theeeen..." _Sasuke turned to Jiraiya and Naruto (before time-skip)._"Hey__,__ do you guys want something?"_

_"Sure!"_

Sasuke turned back to the old lady. _"Three orders of one-time soup."_

_"And then?"_

_"Oh, and some fortune cookies too."_

_"And then?"_

_"Uh... I think that's about it__,__" _said Sasuke.

_"And then?"_

_"No. That's it."_

_"And then?"_

_"No 'and then'! That's all I want."_

_"And then?"_

_"And then__,__ nothing else, 'cause I'm done ordering. Okay?"_

_"And then?" _Sasuke twitched.

_"No. See, all I want is the three orders of chicken and three orders of rice."_

_"And then?"_

_"The soup, dude__,__" _Naruto reminded him.

_"And the one-time soup__,__" _said Sasuke.

_"And then?"_

_"And a fortune cookie__,__" _Jiraiya said.

_"Yes, the fortune cookie too."_

_"And then?"_

_"It's the... chicken, the rice, the soup, the fortune cookies, and that's it."_

_"And then?"_

_"And then, you could put it into a brown paper package and put it in my hand__,__ because I'm ready to eat!" _said Sasuke, looking irritated.

_"And then?"_

_"Look, I __refuse__ to play your mind games!" _Sasuke said, looking furious.

_"And then?"_

_"NO 'AND THEN'"_

_"And then!"_

_"NO 'AND THEN'"_

_"And then!"_

_"NO 'AND THEN'"_

_"And then!"_

_"You're starting to piss me off__,__"_ said Sasuke, eyes twitching.

_"And then?"_

_"Then? I'm going to __come__ in there__,__ and I'm gonna put MY FOOT in YOUR ASS if you say 'AND THEN' AGAIN!"_

In the background, Jiraiya and Naruto were sweat-dropping.

_"And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then And then!"_

Sasuke burst in there, and a foot came swinging in before the screen went dark.

Everyone was laughing so hard that their lungs hurt. Even Itachi was chuckling a little.

"Okay. Who wants to see some... yaoi?" Khorale asked, chuckling darkly.

"Man, you're evil," said black Zetsu, being the only person (or plant thingy) in the whole group to understand the term. S-rank criminals weren't exactly welcome in sex-education classes, you know?

* * *

><p>"The idiot," said Tsunade. "No, it's not Itachi, so stop thinking perverted thoughts."<p>

"Hey!"

Tobi was sitting in a corner, a lump on his head, and was sobbing pitifully. "Tsu-hime..." he whimpered, "can Tobi come out now?"

"NO," said Tsunade. "This is your punishment. Deal with it."

"Why aren't we watching the screen thingy yet?"

"Tobi's enduring his punishment. We'll watch later."

* * *

><p>Seven shadows materialized in an unknown location. From the midst of them, the leader of this shadowy organization stood up.<p>

"Today, we are showing operating more openly." The declaration was so sudden that it caught the rest off-guard. Whispers broke out, and people whispered in hushed tones.

"Make no mistake, we aren't revealing our..._identities__._" The man said the word as if it were a joke. "We shall come up with code-names to introduce ourselves. It's only fair, when we know all about the other side."

"You and your sense of fairness," another shadowed figure snorted. "Leader or not, we're supposed to be BADASS!"

"Quiet," the leader snapped. "You," he pointed at a muscular man. "You will be named 'Silent'_ (Musei) _for your fighting style." The man nodded.

The leader turned to a platinum-color haired girl. "You will be 'Secret' _(Okunote) _because of your _unique_ background." The girl nodded.

"And you," he pointed at a red-haired woman, "will be called 'illusion' _(Meimu)__,_ as genjutsu is your specialty."

"You. I do not get why you are on our side instead of aiding those Konoha fools." The man in question narrowed his eyes.

"I will not help them again, especially after what they did to repay me," the man spat.

The leader nodded. "You will be called 'Gold' _(Kogane)_ for your former title."

Leader turned toward a black-haired boy. "You're called '_Riku__,_' which means 'agony of separation,' and also means 'land' or 'shore'. It's perfect for your background, not to mention that it sounds similar to-"

"Do not reveal my status," the boy said motionlessly. "It is a secret that I only allowed you to know to join this little group. I have my own purpose, and will leave as soon as I fulfill it."

Leader nodded absently, and turned to the last member of the organization. "You are bitter towards Suna for the same reason as Kogane is to Konoha. You will be called 'Desert' _(Areno) _as it was where your home was however you may deney it_." _The woman nodded, obviously upset._  
><em>

The leader then faced the other six members. "You will address me as 'U.I'. Okunote_ (secret)_ and Meimu_ (illusion)_, head to Kirigakure for the Mizukage. Musei_ (Silent)_ and Riku _(Shore)_, go for Sasuke Uchiha. Kogane _(Gold)_, avoid the Kyuubi child at all costs. The same goes to you, Areno _(desert)_, for the Ichibi. The meeting is now over. Goodbye." He disappeared. (Who here recognizes Kogane and Areno? I'm looking forward to your guesses!)

* * *

><p>"MY EYES! SOMEONE GOUGE THEM OUT!" Kakuzu cried hysterically, as a picture of him and Hidan doing naughty things popped up.<p>

"WHAT THE (BEEP) ARE HIS (BEEP)ING TENTACLES DOING TO ME?" Hidan yelled, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Enjoy the wonder known as deviantART, the art version of FanFictionNet," Khorale said smugly. "FanFictionNet is the written version of the fandoms, YouTube's the video version. Now before you lies the wonders of art!"

"That's not art, un!" said Deidara angrily.

"For once, I agree," said Sasori grudgingly.

"Because of that comment, let's see some SasoDei!" Khorale chirped, before typing the keywords.

"AHHHHHH! SOMEBODY KILL ME!" Deidara yelled, clutching his eyes.

"..." Sasori fainted, foam coming out of his mouth. (Can puppets do that?)

"Let's see TobiZetsu!" Both halves of Zetsu twitched violently.

"Can we eat her?" the white side asked. "No." said the black side.

Unknown to them, they were being watched.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure spying on the Akatsuki is a good idea?" Naruto asked Jiraiya.<p>

"Trust me, kid," said the toad sage, grinning. "They can't detect us with my stealth skills!"

"But that girl over there noticed us last time," Naruto pointed out.

As if she had heard them, Khorale gave a small wink in their direction, and said quietly, "You may watch, but as for my punishment for spying on us, you will have to endure this. NO RUNNING, as I can see where you are heading."

"That sounds ominous," said Jiraiya, but shrugged and headed towards the direction the Akatsuki were gathered.

But they weren't the only ones who were watching...

* * *

><p>Finally, Tsunade allowed Tobi back from the 'Bad Boy Corner'. "Let's start watching," she said, and with a tap of her fingers, the screen turned on.<p>

"Holy shit!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "What are the Akatsuki WATCHING?"

"Why is the Kyuubi brat also there anyways?" Madara asked, abandoning his 'Tobi voice'. Orochimaru looked puzzled at this, but shrugged it off as Tobi's weirdness.

"Since when does Jiraiya watch the computer together with S-rank criminals?" Tsunade was stunned.

The trio watched as the screen got incredibly inappropriate (I'm not mentioning the details, or this will turn into an M rating).

"Tobi wonders what they are doing?" Tobi asked innocently. The image on the computer suddenly changed, and Tobi drew back with a gasp of horror. "Tobi don't like this image!" And in his mind, Madara was already planning his revenge on whoever drew those disgusting pictures.

"You pervert!" Tsunade hissed at the screen, to which Jiraiya had a perverted look on his face. On the computer, it showed a picture of Tobi (mask on) and the two sides of Zetsu doing [-CENSORED-], and then...

"Have you seen Mada-" Without hearing more, Tobi clamped his hands on Orochimaru's ears, preventing him from hearing the rest of the sentence. "-and Pein yaoi?"

"What the hell?" the snake sannin hissed at Tobi.

"Tobi only wants to play "Guess who?"

"You put your hands over the eyes to do that!"

"Guys," Tsunade tried to intervene.

"Stay out of this!" Orochimaru and Madara said at the same time.

"GUYS!" Tsunade yelled, directing her chakra enhanced punch at the floor.

Cracks began to form in the smooth tiles, and Madara's eyes widened. Damage this severe showed how powerful Tsunade's punch was. _'She's __DEFINITLY__ scarier than my wife__,__'_ he gulped nervously. But all thoughts were erased from his head as the cage began leeching off their chakra to repair the floor, rendering all three of them unconscious. If Orochimaru hadn't arrived there, with his own supply of chakra, Tsunade would have died. (Madara's immortal, remember?)

* * *

><p>"Hey, is there an earthquake?" The Akatsuki turned their eyes away from Deva Pein who was gaping at the image. (Meanwhile, Nagato in the Ame tower was doing the same expression as he stared into nothing)<p>

"Yeah, it seems so. Reminds me of Baa-chan's punches."

"I wonder what Madara would think if he saw this picture? I thought I got a glimpse of him. He's got to be in something important if the barrier that prevents me from 'seeing' him was breached, if only for a second." Khorale wondered.

* * *

><p>U.I. sat upon his throne, a curious look on his face.<p>

"To think the Godaime Hokage's this powerful... The barrier faltered for a moment, and the girl saw Madara-san for a moment," he said thoughtfully. "I should probably look into this, but I have a feeling that everything will turn out alright."

He opened his red Byakugan eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Otogakure <strong>**joins**** forces with Konoha, Hinote has some fun, and Riku battles Sasuke!**

**Members of the mysterious organization:**

**M****o – Kogan****e (G****old)**

**I***a - IU**

**Z****a – Muse****i (S****ilent)**

**T****a – Meim****u (I****llision)**

**Hinote – Okunot****e (S****ecret)**

**U*****a – Rik****u (S****hore)**

**K****a – Aren****o (D****esert)**

**Each chapter I will reveal the identity of one organization member! This time it's Hinote, she's my OC and has the same contract as Khorale (No fighting and no relationship with anyone, remember?) Though she wouldn't have future-seeing abilities. Instead... Well, you'll find out next chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>A preview on the next chapter:<strong>

_"Nonononono... That idiot couldn't possibly be deciding to-" Orochimaru choked._

_Tsunade shook her head sadly. "Looks like it, Oro-teme."_

_"I can't believe he's going to join Konoha!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "That's just..."_

_"TOBI THINKS HE LOVES YOU!" Tobi cried, as he tried to hug both Tsunade and Orochimaru. "KABUTO LOOOOOVES YOU VERY MUCH!" he said innocently._

_Orochimaru looked disturbed at the thought of his right-hand man possibly bearing romantic interest in him. "Shut up, Tobi."_


	6. Interlude: halloween poem

**Ha! I bet you're surprised about the lack of translations! Don't worry, it's not an error. I just deleted them. The translations are just limited time offer only.**

**And for those who don't have a clue on what I was prattling on about, don't worry about it.**

* * *

><p>Interlude: Halloween poem<p>

_The moon is bright, the time is right_

_All the kids are sleeping tonight_

_From graves and stones, the skeletons roam  
><em>

_The Werewolf howls, the street is alone_

_From flickering shadows, to dancing ghosts_

_One little boy stand unafraid, almost._

_He searched the street, oh where will he die?_

_The demon Kyuubi is quiet tonight._

_Tears on his whiskered cheeks stood out_

_The fox turned to him, with one little pout_

_"No friends, no home. No honor, no goal._

_Come with me, where you clearly belong._

_The son of a demon, we're friends for so long."_

_The cold wind howled, streets are cold_

_Vampires and Werewolves, so dark and alone_

_The footsteps go faster, his breathing gets deep_

_Where is he safe, oh where could he sleep?_

_He searched the streets, oh where will he die?_

_The demon Kyuubi is quiet tonight_

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, it is a rather nice and creepy poem. I hope you liked it!<strong>


	7. Turmoil in Kirigakure

**Yo! It's me again. Khorale, remember? Well, I'm updating one chapter a week, on the weekend. Just so you know.**

**Anyways, ****s****ome facts about Hinote. For one, she is Khorale****,**** but is not at the same time. She is Khorale****,**** but is like her complete opposite****, ****a****n evil twin, perhaps. Except that this 'evil twin' is ****her ****opposit****e**** even in looks. Hinote has platinum ****blonde**** hair (****l****onger than Khorale's hair) and silver eyes, ****wearing ****a green t-shirt and jeans. Her personality ****i****s**** s****adistic, cunning, ****and**** intelligent (IQ rivals that of Shikamaru), but ****she does**** have a keen sense of right and wrong.**

**P.S.**** The organization's name is 'Itonami****,'**** which means 'life****.'**** It is called that because the members in it were thought ****to be ****dead to the world.**

**P.P.S.**** You know what's ****irritating****? While writing this chapter, I ****kept**** DELETING the corrections ****I'd**** made, over and over again. I ****had**** half a mind to just give up trying****.**** S****igh...**

* * *

><p>✿ Chapter 4: Turmoil in Kirigakure✿<p>

_The Mizukage vs Meimu. I wonder who will win...?_

* * *

><p><em>U.I. sat upon his throne, a curious look on his face.<em>

_"To think the Godaime Hokage's this powerful... The barrier faltered for a moment, and the girl saw Madara-san for a moment," he said thoughtfully. "I should probably look into this, but I have a feeling that everything will turn out alright."_

_He opened his red Byakugan eyes._

* * *

><p>"The time has come," Pein announced. "We're sealing the Sanbi today."<p>

There were mutters of both excitement and worry in the Akatsuki. Worry, because they needed to find somewhere private to stay for three days, because during the extraction, the entire hideout was... not exactly a safe place.

The statue of the outer path emitted radioactive waves that were harmful to anything living. It was so intense that the whole base wasn't safe to reside in. Why else do you think the Akatsuki appeared in holograms instead of in person?

"I guess we'll find a hotel," Sasori muttered.

"NO!" Kakuzu exclaimed. "It's too expensive! And who do you think pays the fees?" he glared at the puppet master.

"Well, I'm not going camping like last time, un," said Deidara irritably. "There was a dog that took a piss on my FACE!"

"I remember that. You tracked the dog down and blew it up afterwards," Sasori noted. "The extraction of the Nibi."

"Well, I'm god to the people here. They'll let you stay in a hotel for free if I talk to them," Pein said. "There, problem solved."

Kakuzu nodded his thanks to Pein, and headed off.

"I'll scout around in Ame for anymore news," Khorale volunteered. The truth was, the Akatsuki didn't ALL have to be there for the sealing. It was just to make sure that, if the extraction went wrong, there would be enough people to capture the Bijuu again. Pein was the only person that had to be there, since he was linked to the outer path statue, and was the only one who could do the jutsu.

"Nagato, or Yahiko, whoever you are, you owe me a talk," said Jiraiya. Pein nodded, and left with the Sannin.

* * *

><p>Once they were in a secluded place, Jiraiya turned to Pein.<p>

"Okay, we're alone now. Explain."

"Let me start at the beginning," said Pein. "I am Nagato. I know I have not told you anything about my past, except for the fact that Yahiko, Konan, and I are orphans. The truth is, Konoha was at war with Ame. In Ame, my family and I didn't evacuate in time. My parents were mistaken as shinobi, and were killed by Konoha ninja. That was when I made my first kill, my first pain in life."

Jiraiya patted Pein in sympathy.

"I had to go door to door and beg for food, but the families barely had enough for themselves. I found a stray dog,and it became my company for a was also looking for food. It was only a short time before we met Konan and Yahiko." A slight look of pain crossed his face at the mention of the last name.

"Continue," said Jiraiya.

"Yahiko didn't accept me at first, but we bonded over time. And then one day... the dog died," Pein frowned. "It was an accident, of course. It was during the fight between the three Sannin and Hanzo."

There was a pause, before realization dawned upon Jiraiya's face. "I'm sorry, Nagato!" he exclaimed. He had been unaware of anyone else being caught in the crossfire of that battle.

"We mourned for it, and buried it in a cave. Yahiko had said that he would be a god someday, and end all the fighting. It was a childish belief at that time, but I believed it also," said Pein. "Yahiko created the origional Akatsuki, a group of rebels that were not afraid to stand up against Hanzo. The three of us were becoming too much of a threat, so Hanzo had Yahiko killed in the end." Pein suddenly looked up. "You can come out now, Konan."

Konan emerged from the tree she was hiding behind, and nodded silently.

"I will spare you the details of how Yahiko died, but from that day on, I swore to myself that I would fulfill Yahiko's dream, and I would become a god and destroy Hanzo. As you can see, I succeeded. Hanzo is dead. The war ended. But there is no peace yet, and I will commit myself fully to reaching it."

Jiraiya nodded slowly. "I understood why you did all this now, but how come you are in pursuit of the nine Bijuus? That will only get Naruto killed, and you know I will not stand for that!"

Konan finally decided to speak up. "It all started with Madara. He came to us, and declared his Moon's-Eye plan so suddenly that we thought he was crazy, but he had enough evidence to back his plan up. We both hated him at first, but he started to grow on us, just a little." She blushed, as if she couldn't believe what she was saying. "The Akatsuki behaved more like a family. Tobi bonded them together, that's for sure. Go ask doesn't miss the 'kid'?"

"You have a point," said Jiraiya. "So, as long as you leave Naruto alone, I won't bother you. Good enough of a deal?"

Pein shrugged. "Once this fiasco is over, I'll ask Madara. If I can get him to modify his plan so it doesn't concern the nine-tails..."

They left it at that.

* * *

><p>Khorale froze, a multitude of images flashing through her mind. "What the hell is <em>she<em> doing here?" she suddenly hissed.

"What? asked Naruto.

Khorale turned to face him. "Oh, I forgot that I didn't tell you about my ability. It's pretty useful, really. To put it simply, I can see the future. Not every single detail, mind you. It's just the part of the future that was set in stone. It's usually close to the present, so our decisions can't influence it."

Naruto nodded dazedly. "That's... wow."

Khorale laughed. "I'm actually the author of this story, though I can't exactly come into the fiction world like this, so this 'me' right here is just an avatar, a doll with invisible strings under the exact control of myself."

"...So, you mean that there is a woman that looks just like you in some other dimension thingy, typing every single move we make, and writing our destiny?" Naruto asked incredulously. Khorale nodded. "Damn."

They both laughed.

"So, who's the person you were talking about earlier?" Naruto asked, and Khorale froze again.

"She... Well, I can't exactly explain it, but she is my counterpart, Hinote. She's the opposite of me in every possible way, but she's still me at the same time. She's basically my evil twin," she laughed nervously. "Well, what I just saw was that she is heading towards the direction of Kirigakure with another person."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Naruto muttered. "What's taking Ero-sennin so long?"

* * *

><p>Hinote hummed to herself absently, her thoughts straying towards her counterpart constantly. <em>We'll be having a talk soon, Khorale<em>_,_ she thought.

"Oi! Get over here, Okunote (Secret)!" Meimu (Illusion) yelled at Hinote, urging her to hurry up. Hinote sighed, and walked even slower, purposely irritating the genjutsu-specialist. _"Okunote!"_

Hinote growled a bit, before running to catch up with Meimu. It was a shame that the author had forbidden her to kill anyone during her stay here. The redhead was annoying her greatly. If only there would be some action soon.

_'Your only job in Kiri is to gather information on the Mizukage. Nothing more, nothing less__,__'_ IU's (AN: That's it! I'm changing his name permanently to IU!) voice rang in her head. Hinote grimaced. Who cared what the leader thought? If they wanted her to get the bloody Mizukage, they were going to do it _her _way.

"To hell with the waiting!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I'm going to stomp in there and drag the (BEEP)ing Kage out by her robe, kicking and screaming. To hell with what the leader thinks!" And with that, she was gone.

Meimu sighed. This was already proving to be difficult. IU must have gone insane when he instructed her to babysit Okunote.

Meanwhile, Hinote ran in the opposite direction, grinning from ear to ear. Meimu had bought it. She was free - for now. Khorale had better appreciate this.

She skidded to a stop, and leapt silently onto Khorale's windowsill, knowing the raven-haired girl was already waiting for her.

"What are you doing here, Hinote?" Khorale asked angrily, once she made sure they were alone.

"Tsk, tsk, you better appreciate the effort I put into escaping from the others, Khorale."

"Effort? I see no effort here. Now, tell me why the author sent you here."

Hinote shrugged. "She didn't say the exact reason. My guess is that she doesn't want us to reveal too much to the others. You knowing part of the future was a risk already, but she was willing to take it."

"I see. Now, what are your abilities?"

Hinote put her hands on her chin in a thinking pose, and laughed lightly, tapping Khorale on the forehead lightly. "You're being unreasonably hostile, Khorale."

"Just tell me already!" Khorale seethed, gritting her teeth.

"Ah, my presence must be unsettling for you, or is it my nature?"

"I have no time for games, Hinote," Khorale said, frustrated at how easily Hinote dodged her questions.

"Who says I'm playing any? But-" she turned serious, "-my abilities, you ask?"

"Yes."

"The author has really left you in the dark for this one, I guess, from your lack of knowledge. Think, how did Madara end up in the forest in the first place? Who made Tsunade drunk, and her senses dulled, so she didn't sense the attack? Why did Kabuto leave Orochimaru alone, if only for a few moments? I arrived here the same time as you. You just didn't realize it."

"...So, you have the ability to manipulate people subconsciously?" Khorale asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hinote shrugged. "Maybe, or it may be something else entirely. My understanding of it was not as defined as you with yours." She then got up. "Well, my conditions to come here were almost the same as yours. You were to provide knowledge, though you are doing a poor job of it." Khorale twitched. "And my job was to keep the balance. If the shinobi are going to win, I push the other way, and vice versa. It keeps going, until the author gets satisfied and ends the whole story with one side defeated."

Hinote then got up, "We'll meet again another time. My partner will arrive in Kiri soon. Sayonara," and vanished.

* * *

><p>Kogane (Gold) jumped from tree to tree. He knew the instructions IU had given him, 'Do not go near the Kyuubi child.'<p>

He knew the reason, but did not approve of it.

Beside him, Areno (Desert) was also deep in thought.

The members of the Itonami didn't know each others names, and most preferred not to give their own. They each joined with their own goal in mind. They all had different reasons, and as soon as they fulfilled them, most would leave.

But Kogane would not. He was potentially stronger than the leader himself, who was said to be on par with Uchiha Madara.

Though, considering who the leader was, that wasn't saying much. After all, UI was-

Kogane's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden rustling in the bushes below. He signaled Areno to stop also,and they stood absolutely still, their black cloaks blending in perfectly into the shadows.

Before them was Uchiha Sasuke, Riku's target. Musei(Silent) was just for backup.)

Swiftly, Kogane made several hand seals to escape, and the motion caught the attention of Sasuke.

"Wait! Are you-" but Kogane already disappeared in a swirl of dust.

_That was too close__,_ Kogane thought, hands raking his own ruffled hair. _I forgot about the resemblance_.

He did another set of hand seals, and appeared directly in the HQ. "IU, Contact Riku," he said. "I spotted his target about four miles west from Kusagakure in the local forest.

Leader nodded. "I will."

* * *

><p>Kabuto was treating the wounded. A huge explosion had left the secret laboratory in ruins. Years and years of research were ruined in a single incident.<p>

Oto was nothing but a pile of rubble, and a smoking crater.

Just like Konoha's Hokage Tower.

Just like Ame's forest.

Kabuto rubbed his head. As much as he hated doing this, he couldn't rescue Orochimaru-sama alone. The other two groups of their mutual enemies had formed a temporary alliance, so why couldn't he?

So, it was decided then.

* * *

><p>"Nonononono... That idiot couldn't possibly be deciding to-" Orochimaru choked.<p>

Tsunade shook her head sadly. "Looks like it, Oro-teme."

"I can't believe he's going to join Konoha!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "That's just..."

"TOBI THINKS HE LOVES YOU!" Tobi cried, as he tried to hug both Tsunade and Orochimaru. "KABUTO LOOOOOVES YOU VERY MUCH!" he said innocently.

Orochimaru looked disturbed at the thought of his right-hand man possibly bearing romantic interest in him. "Shut up, Tobi."

* * *

><p>Hinote and Meimu finally arrived at the Kage Tower of Kirigakure.<p>

Hinote nodded slightly at Meimu, who understood. Using a genjutsu, Meimu made it so that nobody would notice anything out of ordinary until it was too late.

With a snap of her fingers, she appeared before the door of the Mizukage's office.

"I'm backup," said Hinote. Meimu acknowledged this with a curt nod.

Meimu materialized in the Mizukage's office, to which the kage looked up sharply.

"You're with_ them_, right?" It was not a question, but a statement.

"Yes," Meimu said simply.

"Are you here for me?"

"I'm just here to gather information," Meimu said with a careless shrug. "But I was feeling a rather strong urge to kill something today..." she trailed off, not finishing the sentence. Both of them acknowledged the barely-concealed challenge.

The two fighters blurred into motion.

Steel clashed with steel, and both women in the room had their blades out,striking, blocking, dodging, and fight was getting too fast for naked eyes to see, and the battling ninjas had only their instincts to rely on. The two of them twisted and spun in counterpoint, a deadly show of acrobatics, and the blades that crossed created a strange and eerie sound, like nails down a blackboard.

Vines grew from the corners of the office, wrapping around the Mizukage, keeping her in place.

"Kai," she tried to dispel it, but nothing happened. Not even a flicker.

Meimu stepped closerto the Mizukage, blade pressed against her throat. "My genjutsu are not mere petty illusions. This is my kekkei genkai. I belonged to the Kurama clan, one that had once resided in Kiri. Sadly, it was destroyed during the rule of the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura. The clan members had the ability to make their illusions real. Too bad they became totally dependent on it. That was how they died. "I won't make the same mistake." A trickle of blood made its way down the blade, staining it with red.

The Mizukage was freed as the vines recoiled away from her, charred and burnt. "You forgot the fact that your enemy may have a bloodline too. I have the Lava Release and Boil Release, along with three chakra natures," the kage told the astounded (though she tried to hide it) Meimu.

Meimu and the Mizukage engaged in a fight of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu. "I must admit, you are very good at this," said Meimu.

"There is a reason I'm the Mizukage."

Meimu paused, and turned to the door. "We're leaving, Okunote. We've got our information." And she then canceled the genjutsu surrounding the Kage Tower.

Hinote nodded happily, and followed Meimu away.

* * *

><p>Madara racked his brains as he watched the Kyuubi brat sit in his bedroom. There had to be <span>some<span> way the leaders could contact the outside world. And the only link Madara had was the Kyuubi itself. The Sharingan was an effective tool to control the nine-tailed beast, if you had enough willpower and chakra. But that damn brat just wouldn't even look in the direction of the screen! All Madara needed was a simple glance.

The Sharingan had many tricks; the Mangekyou had even more.

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, Kamui, Izanagi... and Kotoamatsukami, the ultimate genjutsu. It was supposed that only Shisui of the mirage had that technique, but what else could Madara have used to control the Kyuubi?

"Tobi wants Naru-kun to look at us!" Tobi whined suddenly.

"Well, we can't control the screen," Orochimaru snapped. "Deal with it."

"But Tobi wants to!"

"I don't care what Tobi wants, okay?"

"You're mean, Oro-san..."

"Just deal with it."

"But-"

"SHUT UP, TOBI!" Orochimaru roared suddenly, startling a sleeping Tsunade, and making Naruto glance their way for a moment.

"No way... I swore I just heard..." Madara quickly glanced in Naruto's direction, hoping that his hypothesis would work...

There! He felt a sudden surge of red chakra, and followed it towards its source.

* * *

><p>"No way... I swore I just heard..." Naruto mumbled, confused as to why he heard the voice of the currently missing snake sannin yelling <em>"Shut up<em>_,__ Tobi__!__"_

Tobi...

The name sent a stir of memory flashing through the blond's mind. Madara Uchiha. Did that mean...?

Suddenly, the Kyuubi-container was jerked into his subconscious rather violently.

Coughing and spluttering from the sewage water, Naruto glared up at Kyuubi. "What's that for, Fox?"

**"Shut up, human****,****"** the beast hissed menacingly. **"We have a visitor here****, ****o****ne I would gladly take a bite out of."**

Before Naruto could turn around, another voice spoke up. "It's good to see you again, Kyuubi."

**"Uchiha Madara****,****" **the nine-tails spat the name out as if it was a curse. **"I didn't expect you to make your way here."**

A figure walked calmly towards Kyuubi's cage. "Indeed. I also thought that this technique wouldn't work. Imagine my surprise when it did."

Naruto glanced back and forth at the two figures. "Madara Uchiha? Aren't you supposed to be missing or something?"

Madara chuckled. "Of course I am. Right now, I am... not sure of my location. This is the only I've found to communicate with the outside world. And as you can see, when you glanced in the direction of Orochimaru's voice, you indirectly met my eyes. This won't last for much longer, due to minor... inconveniences," he indicated towards himself. Sure enough, Madara was already fading from Naruto's mind.

**"And the rest of the world ****is**** h****aving a good night's sleep with you locked up nice and tight****,****"** said Kyuubi mockingly. Then, it turned towards Naruto. **"Don't look into his eyes again, kid."**

"But he might know what happened to Baa-chan!" Naruto protested, before Madara disappeared completely.

**"I don't care****,****"** the demon fox said dismissively. **"I ****despise**** that Uchiha. The world's better ****off**** without him ruining it. I will certainly NOT stand it if he comes here every day. Now, ****you've**** tested enough of my patience already, so OUT!" **it bellowed, and Naruto was flung out, also quite violently.

Back in the real world, not even a minute had passed. Naruto blinked for a moment, and then went into deep thought.

* * *

><p>Back in the Cage, Madara panted heavily. Even when he had not controlled something, just the simple act of delving into someone's mind had cost him a huge load of chakra. The other two occupants looked curiously at him.<p>

"Tobi's, *pant pant* tired right now," he said, barely managing the energy to lie down instead of just collapsing. "Good *pant pant* night," and he promptly fell asleep.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" asked Orochimaru, curiously. "I do know that my yelling has not caused this."

Tsunade nodded. She had a hunch about what Madara did. That meant Madara had contacted Naruto. The Godaime Hokage could only hope Madara would not do something to harm the boy.

_'We'll talk later, Madara__,__'_ the Godaime Hokage thought.

* * *

><p>IU's eyes narrowed as he detected a small flare of chakra. It seemed that Madara was more cunning than he had thought.<p>

"Madara Uchiha," he murmured under his breath, "the only person in the world that has a chance at defeating me. Things have become interesting, indeed."

* * *

><p>Tsunade sniffed at her own clothes. "Ugh, how are we even supposed to have a bath here? I stink."<p>

"True," Orochimaru agreed, wrinkling his nose. "Though, can't you wish for one?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," Tsunade spoke. "Alright, cage-thingy, can there be a bathroom in here?"

As if by magic, the Cage (the unofficial name) increased in size, and two doors appeared. "Since Mada- er, I mean Tobi, is asleep, we can have the lights on. I'm sure that if he lies there face down, no light will get inside his mask."

"Is he allergic to light?" Orochimaru asked curiously. Maybe this was a special kekkei genkai or something...

"Keep that greedy look off your face. No, his eyes are just sensitive to overly-bright light. That's all," Tsunade said, annoyed.

"Quiet, you two," Madara grumbled sleepily. "I'm tryin' to sleep here." He dozed off again.

Orochimaru's eyes rose in surprise. In his muddled state of mind, Madara had forgotten his role as Tobi. Once or twice of this, and Orochimaru could pass it off as a trick of his mind, but any more than that could get quite suspicious.

_'I will find out your secret, Tobi__,__ or whoever you are__,__'_ Orochimaru vowed.

* * *

><p>In Konoha, the Rookie Ten (minus Naruto and Sasuke) were training hard.<p>

"I wonder how Jiraiya-sama and Naruto are doing," Sakura wondered.

"We all do," said Shikamaru. "Though, we received a letter from him today, so he reached Ame safely."

Sakura was gaping at Shikamaru, who hadn't even uttered one word about how 'troublesome' it was.

"This is all too troublesome." Never mind... Forget about what I just told you, and continue on with the story.

"We'll have another rookie meeting to discuss the letter," said Tenten.

"YOSH! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTLY TODAY!" Well, you know who that was.

* * *

><p>"Kabuto." Kakashi's only visible eye narrowed. "What are you doing here?"<p>

The medic-nin did not even look uncomfortable, considering he was inside enemy territory. "I came for an alliance between Konoha and Oto."

"And your motive? You have to give an adequate reason for this. You and your master _invaded _this place three years ago!"

"Orochimaru-sama has also disappeared. I'm currently in charge of Otogakure, as of now. I'm only suggesting a temporary alliance, until we get our leaders back."

"I do not trust you, but we need more ninja right now, so I'll consider it. But make no mistake, as soon this little terrorist group is finished, we go back to destroying each other."

"Agreed." They shook hands, and Kabuto left.

* * *

><p>Sasuke twitched, detecting a strong chakra signature heading his way. It was almost as large as Naruto's chakra capacity, but much more controlled. Whoever it was must be very skilled.<p>

"Leave," he ordered Team Hebi. Karin tried to protest, but he waved them away. "This is my fight."

The bush rustled. A bird chirped

With sharp eyes, Sasuke carefully watched his surroundings. This was the mysterious organization that had the Akatsuki (where Itachi was), Oto (where Orochimaru was), and Konoha (where the Dobe was) in an uproar. If he was strong enough to defeat whoever this was, he would have enough power to defeat his brother! Sasuke nodded to himself, and activated the Sharingan.

Out stepped a boy, about sixteen or so. He spoke in a monotonous voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke. Since we are the only ones here, I suppose it is alright to tell you my name. I am Utakata, the former jinchuuriki of the Rokubi."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Khorale talks to herself<strong>**, the rookies read Naruto's letter, and IU pays a visit to Madara in a dream.**

**Members of the ****M****ysterious ****O****rganization:**

**M****o – Kogane (Gold)**

**I***a - IU**

**Z****a – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (Illision)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**K****a – Areno (Desert)**

**Well, are any one of you surprised about Utakata? I mean, 'Riku' sounds like Roku****,**** so I can imagine him getting a little angry at that (in chapter three)****.**** I know this isn't the anime Utakata's behavior, but then****,**** things changed. The guy has no Bijuu, as it ****has**** been extracted. Utakata survived the extraction by some freak chance, and now he's out for revenge on anything and everything about the ****Akatsuki.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Sneak peak to the next chapter: (I know IU's a bit OOC, but Tobi could do that to anyone)<span>  
><strong>

_**You (BEEP)ing idiot! **IU swore.** You baka, Ahou, moron, fool, bastard, dumbass, simpleton-**_

_"I had not realized this could happen." Madara stated blankly._

_**Arragh! I can't believe you! You're basically in MY body now, how are we suppose to get back?**_

_... "At least we're free of Tobi, right?" Madara said slowly, his mind still in a daze._

_**We have to find a way to get back.** IU said hurriedly. **Thisisnotgoodthisisnot-**_

_"Stop hyperventilating!" Madara snapped. "All I need to do is-" he was interrupted by Utakata entering._


	8. One step forward, two steps back

**Hiya people! It's Khorale again! So, if you wanna get some info on Utakata, search on Naruto wiki. Personally, I think I made him a bit OOC with the different attitude. But I suppose the poor boy has the right to ****be****. I mean, when he was caught by the ****Akatsuki****, nobody (as far as I know) went after him. So****,**** I suppose he was quite bitter.**

**Each member of the Itonami joined for their own purpose****,**** and after training very VERY hard, their skills were many times more than what they originally are. Sorry if I made them a bit super-powered, but then****,**** at least I'm not making those cliche overpowered Naruto fanfics, right?**

**P.S.**** This chapter****,**** I'm revealing IU! Hey, did you figure out the rest of the members yet?**

* * *

><p>✿ Chapter 5: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back✿<p>

_"We are so screwed__,__" Madara said._

_"I second that__,__" Sasuke agreed quietly._

* * *

><p><em>The bush rustled. A bird chirped<em>

_With sharp eyes, Sasuke carefully watched his surroundings. This was the mysterious organization that had the Akatsuki (where Itachi was), Oto (where Orochimaru was), and Konoha (where the Dobe was) in an uproar. If he was strong enough to defeat whoever this was, he would have enough power to defeat his brother! Sasuke nodded to himself, and activated the Sharingan._

_Out stepped a boy, about sixteen or so. He spoke in a monotonous voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke. Since we are the only ones here, I suppose it is alright to tell you my name. I am Utakata, the former jinchuuriki of the Rokubi."_

* * *

><p>"What?" Anko asked numbly.<p>

"You heard me, Oto is allied with us temporarily," Kakashi said shortly. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl. Anko hated Orochimaru, and everything related to him. Breaking the news gently to her wasn't going to do any good.

"You CAN'T!" Anko screamed. "I will NEVER want ANYTHING to do with that Hebi-teme again. We're NOT going to-"

"Listen," Kakashi said impatiently, "we're not joining him. It's not the end of the world. We're only temporarily allied, because their leader is missing as well."

"A good thing, then," Anko snorted. "You listen; I'm not going to do a thing to aid that snake or his village in anything, much less get him back to create even MORE trouble. The world's better off without him."

"I would normally agree with that," Kakashi said slowly. "But we lack enough powerful shinobi to take on this mysterious person or organization. They're all S-rank, easily. And you saw how badly the Akatsuki beat us. I bet the person behind them is even more powerful. We definitely need help, and they knew that. I have no other choice but to accept. I'm sorry."

"Fine!" Anko spat at him, hatred burning in her eyes. "If that's the way you want it, so be it! But I'm not gonna help those Oto-temes, not even ONE BIT!" she stormed off.

Kakashi watched her retreating figure sadly. "Anko... I'd hoped that you would not blame innocent people for your past..."

* * *

><p>Green eyes opened, and the first thing Khorale noticed was her headache.<p>

"Author, you stupid teme," she grumbled.

Hey! You have to thank me for giving you more information!

"You crammed the information in my head all at the_ same time! _How could I not get a headache?"

Beats me. Just deal with it.

"I hate you so much."

Technically you ARE me, so you're basically saying that you hate yourself.

"ARRAGH!"

* * *

><p>"Are all the rookies here, Kiba?" asked Shikamaru. "Ah, this is too troublesome. Why can't Sakura or Ino call attendance?"<p>

"She said that you're the first one who reached chuunin, so you're supposed to," Kiba said smugly, glad that he wasn't the person doing the job.

"Troublesome," the Nara moaned. "Well, the rookies are all here, so let's start."

"Naruto's letter reached here yesterday!" Ino chirped. "That means he reached Amegakure safely."

The others sighed in relief. They opened a package, and a computer fell out.

_Hi guys!_

_The future Hokage (yours truly) has reached Amegakure safely! _**(The rookies ****smile**** at this****.****)**_Met Akatsuki along the way. They didn't attack us, saying that there's a truce between Akatuski and Konoha! Weird, huh? _**(Shocked looks were shared around the room. The rookies had no idea about the truce, as only special ninjas****,**** such as ANBU****,**** were in the know.****)**_They're the __ones__ who told ero-sennin and I about Baa-chan's disappearance. There's this nice girl in the Akatsuki _**(Hinata scowled****,**** and started ****emitting**** killing intent**** to which the others backed away slowly****.****) **_who knows just about everything! We sent you a computer so you can speak with us without using messenger hawks. They're really slow. _

_Hey, guess what? I met Madara Uchiha the other day__._**(There were sharp ****intakes**** of ****breaths**** in the room. "Isn't he missing****,**** or something?" Chouji asked suspiciously.)**_ I guess he somehow made it into my mind. Because of the Kyuubi__,__ or something? __I've__ heard that the Sharingan __can__ control Bijuus. Look into that later._**("I will****,****" said Sakura, already bringing out a book.) **_Anyways, he only stayed there for a minute __or__ so__,__ before fading away. He said something about not knowing where he is__,_**("Now we'll never know where Hokage-sama is****,****" said ****Neji.****)**_ and __that he wouldn't__ be able to hold his jutsu__ f__or much longer. _

_Well, guys, I'll be waiting at the chat-room, Dattebayo!_

_-Naruto Uzumaki, J'adore ramen!_

The note ended.

"I... love... ramen..." Ino read, struggling to translate the words. " Where on earth did Naruto learn French?"

"Beats me," Kiba shrugged.

"How do you know French, Ino?" Saukra asked.

"I go into people's minds," Ino shrugged. "I'm bound to pick up other languages from people from foreign countries."

* * *

><p>Utakata and Sasuke stood and faced each other on the battlefield.<p>

"Normally, this would be over already," Utakata smirked, allowing a faint trace of emotion to flit over his face, "but advertising our organization's existence is also a plus." The jinchuuriki blurred forward, whipping out a long rod. Sasuke brought up his katana, blocking the blow.

Sasuke blew out several fireballs the size of a soccer ball, blocking in Utakata, so that he would only have one direction to retreat in, and Sasuke was waiting.

But to Sasuke's dismay, Utakata blew into the rod and bubbles formed, trapping the fire inside. Without oxygen, the fireballs died down.

"How..." Sasuke said.

"You're proving to be quite interesting, Uchiha," Utakata said with a nod of acknowledgement. "Alright, maybe this match wouldn't be so boring after all."

Sasuke summoned a white snake, but a multicolored spark appeared. Sasuke leaped back, alarmed. He'd heard about the spark, and was wondering what it could do.

His thoughts were interrupted when the snake swallowed the spark whole, and an explosion occurred. Bits and pieces of snake guts filled the clearing.

"This is my Exploding Bubble Technique," Utakata explained quietly. "In the sunlight, it was invisible, but bubbles have a soapy surface, and so sunlight glances off and creates a speck of light the color of the rainbow. Its strength varies from enough force to knock someone out, to enough force that rivals Deidara's exploding clay."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and raised his katana. Chirping noises soon filled the clearing, as Sasuke yelled "Chidori Nagashi _(O__ne __T__housand __B__irds __C__urrent)_!"

The clearing was soon filled with explosions, as the wave of lightning dancing across Sasuke's skin popped invisible bubbles around him. But such a technique wasn't without its risks, as when all the bubbles were popped, a charred and burnt Sasuke stumbled to a halt.

"Mmm... a marvelous jutsu," Utakata said in a monotone. "But you forgot that water can be hazardous to electricity when they come in contact. So, when a bubble pops, it explodes outward, and makes your lightning jutsu discharge, shocking you."

Sasuke coughed into his hand, before narrowing his eyes. "You remind me of _him_, the man who slaughtered my clan. Both of your eyes are so dead and cold. Why?"

Utakata stared back at him for a moment. "My reasons are my own. Stay out of it."

A bubble blew up behind an unsuspecting Sasuke, knocking him out. Utakata picked him up, and disappeared in a swirl of water, leaving a smoking crater behind.

* * *

><p>"Here we go again," Madara grumbled, looking around his subconscious. Kotoamatsukami took way too much chakra, and he had to push in even MORE to get past the chakra dampening seal. And as if that wasn't enough, Madara had stayed in the Kyuubi-boy's mind for a WHOLE MINUTE! It was a wonder Madara hadn't died, even if he was immortal.<p>

"Huh, it looks like somebody's here," said Madara, as he heard footsteps further down the hallway.

To his surprise, a masked version of himself came into view, squealing, "MADARA-SAN CAME! TOBI'S NOT ALONE ANYMORE!"

Madara stared for a minute, then groaned. "Oh, don't tell me I have Dissociative-Identity-Disorder from acting like Tobi so much!"

"TOBI IS NOT A DISORDER! TOBI IS TOBI!"

"...Well, this is a surprise." Madara whipped around, and saw a third figure approaching.

The person was cloaked in black, a shadow blocking any distinguishable features on his face. He took a few steps forward slowly.

When the person's face was clear of the shadows, Madara gasped. "You!"

"Yes, me," IU chuckled, pupil-less eyes staring blankly in front of him. "It's been a while, Madara."

* * *

><p>"You couldn't have given me the information earlier, like when I was giving information to Madara?" Khorale said.<p>

Yes, I could have, but where's the fun in that?

"This is important! And we're probably too late, what with half the leaders already abducted."

Hey, no worries! I'll make it turn out all right! Plus, why are you so angry anyways?

"In the other timeline, there were no Itonami members! So, if they start appearing here and causing chaos, more of the past has been affected by Madara's arrival than you had let on. I have basically lied to Madara!"

Oh, yeah, there's that. If you knew about that earlier, people would have discovered everything about the members, and the shinobi would have won. I'm not ending my story that quickly. I sent Hinote so that the story will continue until I'm satisfied enough to end it.

"So, Kogane _(__Gold)_ wants revenge on Konoha for obvious reasons (if you know his real identity, you'd figure it out. If not, wait until chapter six.), Areno _(__Desert)_ is the same, but with Suna instead, Riku _(__Shore)_ wants revenge on Akatsuki and Kiri, Meimu _(I__llusion)_ wants Otogakure annihilated, Musei _(S__ilent_) just wants to have fun, and IU wants a challenge?" Khorale asked, trying to comprehend the situation.

Yeah, that's basically it.

"The world's gone crazy," Khorale said sadly.

* * *

><p>Team Hebi paused at the sudden silence in the forest. "Is it over?" Juggo asked.<p>

"Sasuke!" Karin yelled. "He might be hurt!"

"I have this bad feeling all of a sudden..." Suigetsu muttered. "The last time I got this feeling was when mom figured out I broke her favorite vase." he shivered.

"Let's go check."

* * *

><p><strong>MindReader has logged onto the <strong>**chat-room**

**CheeryBlossom has logged onto the chat-roo****m**

**YOUTH has logged onto the chat-room**

**DogBreath has logged onto the chat-room**

**ShyGirl has logged onto the chat-room**

**BugBoy has logged onto the chat-room**

**FutureRokudaime has logged onto the chat-room**

**BigBoned has logged onto the chat-room**

**FateGuy has logged onto the chat-room**

**WeaponLover has logged onto the chat-room**

**Troublesome has logged onto the chat-room**

**Troublesome: **This is so darn Troublesome!

**Dogbreath: **Hey, what's with the names?

**FutureRokudaime**: It fits you, dattebayo.

**YOUTH: **NARUTO-SAN IS SO FULL OF YOUTH! HE-

**WeaponLover: **Shut. Up.

**BigBoned: **Do you guys have any snacks?

**FateGuy: **Is Hinata-sama here yet?

**FutureRokudaime: **Yo! People! Got my letter yet?

**CheeryBlossom: **Yes, Naruto. Now, how did you get so many computers to send here?

**FutureRokudaime:** I don't know! That Akatsuki girl just made them come out from some strange air!

**MindReader: **Naruto, it's 'out of THIN AIR!' NOT 'strange air.'

**FutureRokudaime: **Deal with it,my grammar sucks. Those teme at the academy never taught me anything.

**ShyGirl: **Naruto-_kun_, please tell me WHO the Akatsuki girl is so I can wring her neck?

**AuthorSama:**…Wow, Hinata's awfully scary when she's possessive.

**FutureRokudaime: **Who are you? Dattebayo!

**AuthorSama: **Well, you asked for the 'Akatsuki girl.' Well, here I am!

**FutureRokudaime:** Khorale-chan?

**ShyGirl: **Khorale-_chan?_

**AuthorSama: **Um, I think I should retreat about now...

**AuthorSama has left the chat-room**

**BugBoy:** Hinata-hime is frightening.

* * *

><p>Madara stared at IU warily. "Izuna." he stated simply.<p>

"Yes." Izuna said, the two brothers stood facing each other and were not sure of what to say.

"HUGS!" Tobi yelled and dashed forward.

The Uchiha brothers looked at each other.

"Truce for the moment?" said Izuna.

"You have some explaining to do later," Madara growled, and the two of them raced away at the last second, before Tobi reached him.

"SHADOW CLONE NO JUTSU!" Tobi yelled and two identical copies of the hyper boy sprung out and lunged towards Madara and Izuna for the 'hug of doom'.

"Did you teach him that one?"

"NO! Of course not!" There were now two Tobis chasing both Madara and Izuna, racing through the hallway, and past several rooms.

"What's inside?" asked Izuna.

"How should I know?" Madara snapped.

"This is YOUR mind!"

"I've only ever been unconscious a few times, most of them YOUR organization's fault!"

"Well, EXCUSE me then!" They started shoving at a door. Neither of them noticed the label of the plaque on the door.

_Memories._

* * *

><p><em>A younger Madara stood facing against Hashirama Senju. Both of them are battered and tired, receiving numerous wounds from <em>_their__ legendary battle__,__ and __neither__ of them had even a drop of chakra left._

_Panting heavily, Madara and Hashirama stared each other down. The first one to fall would be the first one dead, they realized. Both are so tired that they __can__ barely stand, though they knew deep down who would win in the end._

_Hashirama won. __'__He always does__,'__ Madara thought bitterly. He had bested Madara in the Hokage election, he had stolen the Kyuubi from Madara's control__,__ and had sealed it into his wife, Mito__, __h__e had the Mokuton__,__ powerful enough to transform a desert into a jungle. Hashirama always __got__ the most attention, the popularity, the __credit__._

_Madara fell._

* * *

><p><em>Another scene<em>_ this time. Madara approached Pein about forming the Akatsuki. The two argued upon who to be the leader. Finally, it was decided that Pein would be the official leaders while Madara plot in the background. Madara would 'join' the Akatsuki when the time was right. And Madara did when Sasori died. _(Izuna looked puzzled at the scene as he did not remembering anybody in Akatsuki dying)

* * *

><p><em>The scene shifted and twisted. Finally it landed on the Kage summit meeting. Madara announced the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War. The memory continued until the final battle. <em>

_"Wait." Madara told a Sage-Kyuubi-mode Naruto. "I want to try something. Wood release!" huge trees sprouted from the ground and went after a gaping Naruto._

_"You've GOT to be kidding me..." Naruto stared as the tree came closer and closer  
><em>

* * *

><p>Stumbling out of the room, Madara and Izuna landed on the floor, disoriented<em>.<em>

"What the hell was that?" Izuna said as he stood up while wobbling.

Madara glanced at the lableling. "Appearantly we stumbled into a few fragments of my memories." This was his mind after all, of course memories are stored here.

Tobi came around the corner to tackle them again. Finally noticing the approaching doom, Madara yelped in terror, and yanked Izuna away with him, both teleporting to another place. "Why can't I wake up?" Madara growled to himself.

"You used too much chakra to create that link with the Uzumaki boy." Izuna noted. "It should normally take a week to recover, but have you ever been normal?" he snorted.

"Explain why you are alive. Now," said Madara, both Sharingan and Rin'negan flashing. Izuna looked surprised at the Rin'negan, as though he had just spotted it.

"Fine. You stole my eyes, thought I was dead and left! I wandered around blind for weeks! Do you know how hard it is to get a Byakugan?" Izuna yelled. "Now I can only see things in black and white and chakra signatures only!"

"I didn't steal your eyes! You gave them to me!"

"You must have used your mind-control thing then, because I do NOT remember giving you my eyes willingly!"

"I was blind with too much use of the Mangekyou sharingan! How could I use it?"

"How should I know?"

The two bickering brothers were interrupted by a bone-chilling sound, the voice of Tobi. "IU-SAAAAAAN! MADARA-SAAAAAN! TOBI FOUND YOU!"

"Run!" Madara yelled, and the truce was reinstated.

* * *

><p><strong>BugBoy: <strong>My bugs detect a disturbance.

**MindReader: **Well? Are you going to tell us more, or not?

**CheeryBlossom:** Stop being impatient, Ino.

**FutureRokudaime:** Um, guys? I don't feel so well.

**ShyGirl:** NARUTO!

**DogBreath: **Hey, answer us, Naruto!

**BigBoned: **He's not answering.

**CheeryBlossom: **NARUTO!

**Troubleso****me: **Troublesome.

* * *

><p>The Uchiha brothers dashed down a random hallway, and stopped.<p>

"Did we lose him?" Izuna panted.

"Apparently not," said Madara, as he heard approaching footsteps. They shuddered at the thought of Tobi catching them.

"Is that dripping water?"

"...I think I know where we are," said Madara slowly, looking around the dimly-lit hallway.

The mind is a complex thing, the subconscious even more so. It can lead you into the deepest coma, or even into the land of heaven or hell. And that was only a small part of it. Nobody had ever explored the full potential of the mind. Nobody who tried had made it out yet.

And if this was what Madara thought it was, they had just discovered a pathway linking one mind to another.

Namely, his to Naruto's.

Tobi's footsteps came closer, and the two brothers panicked and ran for dear life while screaming like someone on fire.

They crashed into the bars of Kyuubi's cage, and narrowly avoided the claws that shot out to strike at them.

**"You again****,****"** the beast growled with forced calm. Madara got up, and retreated away from the tall bars. **"I thought I ****had**** kicked you out permanently last time, but that clearly is not the case."**

"Is that the Kyuubi?" Izuna asked, stepping backwards slightly. (Though, only slightly. It wouldn't do for an Uchiha to show fear, after all.)

**"You've brought another friend****,****" **Kyuubi said, peering closely at Izuna. **"Never thought I'd see ****a B****yakugan on an Uchiha. The eyes mixed with your blood****, and**** caused the white to change to scarlet. You might as well call it Akaga****n **_**(R**__**ed **__**E**__**yes)."**_

"OY! FUZZBALL!" a loud and annoying voice came. Naruto, of course, arrived inside his subconscious, due to the commotion the Kyuubi had caused. Then, he noticed Madara. "You!" he yelled, pointing at the amused Uchiha. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh... There was an accident, and we accidentally intruded here," Madara said.

"We? Is Baa-chan here?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"No. I mean we-" Madara gestured at Izuna and himself "-came here accidentally, and it's all Tobi's fault."

"Wait, aren't YOU Tobi?" asked Naruto. Izuna raised an eyebrow, wondering what the orange-colored brat could possibly mean.

"You'll see," said Madara, as he eyed the end of the hallway. "He should be arriving anytime now-" There was a splash as an orange (not Naruto) blur crashed into Madara, Izuna, and Naruto, sending the three of them crashing to the wet floor.

"IZU-SAN AND MADARA-SAN BROUGHT A FRIEND!" Tobi squealed. "TOBI'S SOOO HAPPY!"

Naruto looked confusedly between the two of them. They were identical, masks and all, except that the mask Madara wore was a different design (That juubi-eye mask he wore/will wear in the future. But some changes are made: instead of like a helmet, the mask is flat like Tobi's and hair can be seen)`

"Who are you?" Naruto turned towards Izuna, who chuckled nervously.

"He's the lea-" Izuna jumped up and covered Madara's mouth, dragging him away.

"Huh, that was weird," said Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong>FutureRokudaime: <strong>Alright guys, I'm back!"

**CheeryBlossom:** NARUTO! YOU GAVE US A HEART ATTACK!

**ShyGirl: **Naruto-kun! You're safe!

**FutureRokudaime: **You'll never guess what happened. So first...

* * *

><p>Izuna suddenly paled when he recognized the place where he had dragged Madara to. "Holy (BEEP)ing (BEEP)(BEEEEEEEP)! This is MY mind!"<p>

Their only route of retreat was blocked by Tobi, who was dashing closer and closer.

"We should keep running," Madara said nervously.

They approached a circular room. It was full of buttons, knobs, and monitors. Izuna paled even further as he recognized the room. Madara however, was still running blindly... right towards the door.

"Stop! You idiot!" Izuna yelled. "Don't go in there!" But it was too late.

* * *

><p>Madara jolted awake on a throne. "What the (BEEP) happened?" he asked, but stopped when he heard his own voice. It was different than his own. It was different and more...<p>

Oops.

**You (BEEP)ing idiot! **Izuna swore.** You baka, Ahou, MORON, fool, bastard, dumbass, simpleton-**

"I had not realized this could happen." Madara stated blankly.

**Arragh! I can't believe you! You're basically in MY body now****.**** H****ow are we ****supposed**** to get back?**

"...At least we're free of Tobi, right?" Madara said slowly, his mind still in a daze.

**We have to find a way to get back****,** Izuna said hurriedly. **Thisisnotgoodt****hisisnot-**

"Stop hyperventilating!" Madara snapped. "All I need to do is-" he was interrupted by Utakata entering.

**Quick! Act like me! Be calm****,**** and only answer when you have to! **Izuna said, in panic-mode again.

"IU-sama, my mission was successful. I await further orders."

_What should I say__? _Madara thought in his mind._ There's a supposedly dead jinchuuriki in your organization tha__t__ probably __hates__ the Akatsuki with every fiber of his being!_

**Just tell him he did a good job****,**** and have him to contact Kogane to get the next target. And call him Riku****,** Izuna said irritably.

"Good job, Riku. Your next mission is to contact Kogan" said Madara. He was used to giving orders like this to Pein in the past_. How did I do? _he thought, as Riku bowed stiffly and left.

**It ****was adequate****, I suppo****- A****CK! Tobi! Get off me!**

"I'm so glad that I'm not in there right now."

**Oh yeah? Then watch this! HEY TOBI! MADARA WANTS A HUG****,**** BUT HE CAN'T GET INTO HIS MIND! **yelled Izuna.

**Really! Tobi wants Madara-san to come ****back****! **

There was a tugging feeling, and Madara felt himself slump forward and jerked back into Izuna's mind once more.

Once he got there, Izuna walked forwards to regain control of his own body. "We'll never speak of this again," he stated, once he woke up in the real world.

**"Agreed****,****" **Madara said, though annoyed at Tobi, who was latching onto him. The two split personalities then turned to walk back into Madara's mind.

* * *

><p>Madara woke up slowly, this time in the right body. "OW! WHO TURNED ON THE LIGHTS?" he yelled, forgetting his Tobi facade, and after his encounter with said facade inside his mind, Madara didn't wanted to.<p>

Beside him, Sasuke woke up with a groan. "Stop yelling," the boy muttered.

"What are YOU doing here?" Madara flipped his mask so that the eye-hole was on the bottom, effectively blocking out the bright light.

"I was battling that Rokubi jinchuuriki that you failed to kill," Sasuke grumbled.

Madara's eyes widened. Rokubi? Wasn't that Utakata, who had entered the throne room a while ago?

"I am tired of acting right now," Madara said in a low voice, and began filling Sasuke in about the crazy adventure he had had while in the Cage (Though he purposely left out certain bits, such as his trip into Izuna's mind, and other things.) "Speaking of which, do you know where Tsunade and Orochimaru went? I'm quite blind right now."

Sasuke pointed at the washroom.

A moment later, Tsunade and Orochimaru emerged from the bathrooms all refreshed. "MY TURN NOW!" Madara yelled, and dashed in. A week without a shower (ew) made him quite desperate.

After a satisfyingly hot bath, Madara put his mask on, and the Cage was nice and dark again.

"Okay, _Tobi__,_" said Orochimaru, "who are you really? And why the hell is the Uchiha here?"

And thus, another round of explaining.

"Basically, I'm Madara -" he left out Uchiha so Orochimaru wouldn't try to take his body "and 'Tobi' is just a facade. I was the real leader of the Akatsuki hence why I am here. Sasuke's here because he's leader of Hebi, and the organization is getting leaders of powerful groups." Madara finished, not wanting to reveal his time-travelling. He needed an ace up his sleeve anyways.

* * *

><p><strong>MindReader: <strong>So, basically, Madara came again, and stayed longer this time, dragging somebody else with him?

**FutureRokudaime****: **...Yeah...

**Troublesome:** What did the other guy look like?

**FutureRokudaime:** I don't know. His face was covered by a hood.

**BugBoy:** We've got to report to Kakashi about this.

**FutureRokudaime:** Is he the Hokage now? *Sad face* I have to change my screen-name to FutureNanadaime now!

**CheeryBlossom:** No, he's just a substitute in order to prevent Danzo from taking over.

**FutureRokudaime:** Whew.

* * *

><p>Nobody spoke after Madara finished speaking.<p>

Finally, Tsunade said, "I have another piece of information." All heads turned to look at her. "I have figured out the rest of the Itonami member's identities. I wrote it on this ." She held the piece of information up.

But as they leaned closer to inspect the paper, there was something wrong.

There were no words written on there, and Tsunade suddenly looked dazed.

A note fluttered down, and Orochimaru snatched it and read it aloud.

My, my, spilling secrets now, are we, Tsunade-hime?

There will be a punishment for all of you later.For now, I have erased her memories of the information she had acquired.

Watch your backs, and do not try to reveal MY identity again.

IU

Madara shivered, being the only person who knew about IU's identity.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Orochimaru shook the dazed-looking Tsunade.

"We're so screwed," Madara said.

"I second that," Sasuke said quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: The captives <strong>**receive their**** punishment, Team Hebi ****arrives, and some Kogane fun!**

**M****o – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Z****a – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (****Illusion****)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**K****a – Areno (Desert)**

**Yo! Did any one of you figure out Izuna before the revelation? If so, you earned a cookie! Keep telling me your guesses on the rest of 'em.**

* * *

><p><strong>Sneak peakPreview of the next chapter:**

_Izuna raised an eyebrow. "And your point?"_

_"Which team is Naruto going to be in?"_

_Izuna smirked._

_"Why Suna, of course."_


	9. A Rose by Any Other Name would be Just a

**EH... Hello again! It's Khorale again! Did anyone miss me? Okay, back to business. So... I'm guessing right now that all of you have some clue about each member's identity. Just PM me and I'll tell you if you're right or not.**

**Alright, we're revealing Kogane this time! I can't wait to see the Konoha people's reactions... Muahahahah!**

**Hinote: You're evil.**

**Khorale: And who are YOU to say that?**

**PS I have a small swearing vocabulary, so I use the **occasional ****'beeps,'**** so then** I don't have to make up words.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>✿ Chapter 6: A Rose by Any Other Name is Just as Sweet ✿<p>

__ _Kogane is the 'rose__.'__ He has many other names. Is he 'sweet__?'__ Now THAT's __the__ question.___

* * *

><p><em>Orochimaru shook the dazed-looking Tsunade.<em>

_"We're so screwed," Madara said._

_"I second that," Sasuke said quietly._

* * *

><p>Izuna sat lazily upon his throne, thinking of traumatizing punishments.<p>

He could call up Kyuubi temporarily due to Izanagi, a technique that could make reality an illusion, and illusion into reality,though only one with an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan could one use it without going blind.

Or that's what they thought.

Due to Uchiha blood mixing with the Byakugan eyes, it had turned into something new entirely. Even though Izuna's vision was limited towards chakra signatures and such, it has its unique uses as well.

One of them was that, with those eyes, Izuna would never grow blind, not if somebody stabbed him in the eye, not if someone put the thickest blindfold over him. Hell, not even gouging out his eyes would do anything. And that was only one ability.

"Nope," he muttered to himself, "Kyuubi would only head for Madara. I need something for the whole group."

Now what was Madara afraid of? Izuna shrugged, and brought out a box of blackmail he had gotten in his younger days, and started looking through it.

* * *

><p>Kakashi called up a meeting with the Akatsuki, Oto, and the rookies.<p>

"Okay," he began, "we've got this organization that's kidnapping leaders left and right, so they're aiming for a goal of some kind. It cannot be good, because if it was then they would do it the legal way. Now, they already have our 's only Suna, Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri left. You will be sent out in teams of four, and-" He was interrupted by several people banging open the door and storming in.

"Kakashi-san, we caught intruders in Konoha," said a Chuunin, shoving Team Hebi in. "They said they wanted to speak to you. They bear important information."

"Hey!" Naruto said, pointing at them. "You're on Sasuke's team! Where is he?" Realization began dawning on everyone's faces as they considered the most probable situation.

"Not another one," Kakuzu moaned. "Haven't we got enough trouble?"

"SASKUE-KUN IS NOT TROUBLE!" Karin yelled. Sakura winced. Had she been like that before?

Yes.

"Who are you?"

I'm the author. Now, forget about this conversation we're having, and continue with your meeting.

"Sasuke's not a Kage of anything. So, why did they get him?" asked Kakashi.

"Well Madara isn't a Kage," Pein pointed out.

"He was the Yondaime Mizukage," said Kisame.

"That's not official. And if that's the case, Danzo would be gone because he's leader of ROOT."

"Speaking of which, where IS Danzo?" asked Itachi, looking around.

"Hey, we haven't seen him much these days!" said Ino.

"Which means he also disappeared. Great. More headaches," Kakashi said, rubbing his head.

"So, you just have to be the leader of a powerful group," Team Hebi and Akatsuki puffed up with pride at that.

"Though how did they know about Tobi, un?" said Deidara.

"How DID you Konoha people find out anyways?"

"We have sources..." Naruto said in a mysterious and creepy voice. Hinata let out an'Eep!' and fainted.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "As I said at the beginning of this confusing conversation, four villages are left, so we have to warn them. We'll split into teams of four. Kurenai, Shikamaru, Kidomaru, and Hidan are to head for Kumo." The group nodded and left. Only Kidomaru and Kimmaro had survived the Sasuke Retrieval Mission.

"Kimmaro, Kakuzu, Kabuto, and Asuma, go to Kiri." They looked at each other, and left to pack.

"Karin, Sai, Kisame, and Chouji, go to Iwa." Chouji gulped. Sai technically wasn't a rookie, but then, neither was Team Gai.

"Itachi, Naruto, Khorale, and I will head to Suna." Naruto glanced towards Itachi nervously.

* * *

><p>"ITACHI!"<p>

"Calm down, Sasuke."

* * *

><p><strong>CheeryBlossom: <strong>Good luck, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto!

**ShyGirl: **Why does that (BEEP) get to go on a mission with my Naruto-kun?

**FateGuy: **Hinata-sama, language.

**DogBreath: **Wow, who knew Hinata could swear so harshly?

**ShyGirl: *Blush******F****aint***

**FutureRokudaime: **OI! What happened to Hinata-chan? Her face is all red like she's having a fever! I'm carrying her to the hospital.

**MindReader: *****F****acepalm* **You are so dense. Look, she's waking up now.

**ShyGirl: **EEP! *******F****aint***

**FutureRokudaime: **Hey! She woke up and fainted again!

**CheeryBlossom: **We'll take care of her.*******S****igh***You just go and get ready for the mission. I'm inviting Sai into the chatroom later.

**FutureRokudaime: **No! Kakashi-sensei said that those who abandon their friends were lower than trash!

**ShyGirl: **EEP! *******F****aints again***

**YOUTH: **NARUTO-KUN AND HINATA-CHAN ARE ENJOYING THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH! I MUST PREPEAR MYSELF, OR I WILL FALL BEHIND!

**WeaponLover:** Shut. Up.

**BugBoy: *****S****weatdrop* **This is getting nowhere.

**Troublesome: **Troublesome. I want to sleep.

* * *

><p>Seven shadows shunshined to a room (I am not revealing the location nor am I describing it. It's a room, take it or leave it.<p>

Izuna cleared his throat. "Our search is coming to an end. War is brewing, and the enemy is preparing. It would take too long to capture each of the Kage one by one, as they are sharing what they know about us and adapting. If we don't hurry, they will catch on much more quickly. We will take three at once this time."

Hinote raised an eyebrow. "Two for each one. Kogane and I can go to his superior speed, he can best the so-called 'Ultimate Defense' the Kazekage seems to have." Areno _(Desert__)_ twitched ever so slightly. "And I know Khorale is also going there, so I will go."

Izuna nodded, and said "I am going to Kiri. Though Riku would be best against lava release, he is needed at Iwa."

"IU-sama, I would also like to go to Iwa." Meimu_(I__llusion) _batted her eyelash at Utakata, who just turned away.

So far, Kogane_(G__old)_ had been silent, considering Hinote's words. "Like Okunote_(S__ecret)_ said, Khorale is heading for Suna, which means others are also splitting up to protect each Kage."

Izuna raised an eyebrow. "And your point?"

"Which team is Naruto going to be in?"

Izuna smirked.

"Why Suna, of course."

* * *

><p>"Not another one!" Madara exclaimed, as somebody tumbled from the air and fell on him.<p>

"Danzo..." Tsunade growled. But said man was unconscious, so he didn't hear.

"Why are you all angry at some old geezer?" asked Sasuke. Madara stared at him for a moment before Tsunade started catching on.

"Madara, don't you dare-"

"Sasuke, do you want to know the truth about the Uchiha Massacre?" Madara said, and began to tell the story.

* * *

><p>"I've got it!" Izuna sat upon his throne and scribbled down notes. "It's perfect, it's absolutely horrifying, it's-" He snapped his finger "…I don't even want to think about it, but it'll be nice to see their reactions."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>MindReader: <strong>Sooo... Khorale, who do you like?

**AuthorSama: **?**  
><strong>

**MindReader: **Well, everybody here has somebody they like. Kiba likes Hinata, Hinata likes Naruto, Naruto likes Sakura, Sakura likes Sasuke, Sasuke's gay as far as I know, so he probably likes Naruto (They kissed, remember, at the graduation?), and possibly Itachi. Such a level of obsession is creepy enough to be incest.

**AuthorSama: *****S****hudder***

**MindReader:** I used to like Sasuke, though now I like Chouji, Sai likes Naruto in some creepy way (Come on! Why is it always Naruto on the end on those penis jokes? That must mean something...), Tenten likes Neji who possibly likes her back, Lee likes Sakura, Shino likes Hinata, Gai and Lee hug each other so much it's obvious they're in a relationship, so what about you?

**AuthorSama:** Well, I do have some favorite characters, just not in a romantic way. I guess I like Naruto's determination, Pein's awesome piercings, Konan's origami skills, Itachi's sacrifice, Tobi's childishness, and yeah, that's about it.

**MindReader:** What was that fourth one?

**AuthorSama:** Tobi's childishness?

**MindReader:** No, before that.

**AuthorSama:**…Oh. So, how's the weather?

**MindReader:** DON'T TRY AND CHANGE THE SUBJECT!

**AuthorSama: *Sigh*** Ask Tsunade when she gets back. I'm not allowed to tell other people's secrets.

**MindReader:** I'll hold you to that.

* * *

><p>Meimu<em>(I<em>_llusion) _and Utakata walked along a road, heading towards Iwa.

"I can't stand the silence anymore," Meimu grumbled. "Say something!"

"..."

"ARRAGH!"

...

...

An hour later...

...

...

* * *

><p>"Is it true you have blue balls?"<p>

"Shut up, Sai."

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Karin screeched. "WE'RE OFF TO RESCUE SASUKE-KUN!"

"No, we're not," Chouji's said calmly. "We're heading for Iwa."

"Shut up, Fatso," Karin snapped at him.

Big mistake.

Chouji turned red with rage. "What did you call me?" he said threateningly. But Karin paid it no mind.

"I called you fat, because you ARE fat! Go check a mirror, or something," Karin snapped, paying no mind to the approaching doom.

Let's just say the rest of what happened was too gruesome to speak of.

* * *

><p>"Aww Kogane, don't wear a hood!" Hinote chuckled as she pulled down Kogane<em>(Gold's<em>) cloak, which was hiding his face.

* * *

><p>Izuna aimed the screen carefully at a certain target, cackled wildly, and pressed play.<p>

The leaders would have to follow Gai and Lee for the rest of the day. (Man, I'm evil!)

Needlessly to say, Danzo woke up, glanced at the screen, and fell into a coma after screaming rather loudly and OOC-ingly.

Nobody spared him a glance.

* * *

><p>Because Chouji's team was *Cough-Useless-Cough* and delayed, Meimu <em>(I<em>_llusion)_ and Utakata successfully caught the Tsuchikage.

They were very disappointed, and the Iwa ninja refused to acknowledge Chouji, who was the leading cause of the delay.

But the good news was, Iwa joined with Konoha anyways.

* * *

><p>Kurenai, Shikamaru, Kidomaru, and Hidan head for road. Itwas a bit rough, but otherwise alright.<p>

"I'm tired of those (BEEP)ing bushes," Hidan muttered, kicking some fallen branches aside. "My (BEEP)ing clothes are wet, my scythe is (BEEP)ing rusty, and did I mention that a (BEEP) dog pooped there?" he pointed at the ground before Kidomaru.

Letting out a noise of disgust, Kidomaru jumped away and started wiping his sandals on Hidan.

"YOU LITTLE (BEEP)ING PILE OF SHIT!" Hidan roared, chasing after Kidomaru. "I WILL (BEEP)ING (BEEP) (BEEP) (BEEEEEEEEEEP) YOU, (BEEP)ER OF A (BEEP)!"

The others winced at the harsh language. Shikamaru moaned another "Troublesome," and walked away.

In the distance, they spotted two figures. Kurenai squinted and made out the forms of two organization members.

"We have to hurry!" she whispered to her team so that the people in the distance would not hear. "I saw two people heading towards Kumo, and I have a feeling we all know what they're going to do."

Hidan and Kidomaru stopped bickering and followed silently after Kurenai and Shikamaru, keeping a sharp eye on the two Itonami members.

Musei_(Silent__)_ and Areno_(D__esert)_ stopped short as they sensed the team's chakra signatures. "We know you are there," said Areno, and suddenly, the area was cloaked with a thick fog.

"I'll stall them," said Musei, cracking his knuckles. "I've been wanting to see if the Raikage would be enough of a challenge to satisfy me." He disappeared in a shower of snowflakes.

"The Hyoton," Kurenai said, shocked. "Who the hell _is_ he?"

"He is none of your concern," Areno shrugged. "I'm your opponent."

Hidan charged.

Swinging his three-bladed scythe in a full circle, Hidan unleashed an invisible shockwave. (In this fanfiction, Hidan's elemental nature is lightning and wind.)

Areno caught the wind ripple, and tossed it back with ease, though how she did it was too fast to see.

The ripple of wind cut Hidan in half, and he tumbled, cussing, into a mud puddle. Kidomaru laughed, despite the serious situation.

Hidan's hands reached desperately at the rest of his body, but there were no Kakuzus on the scene, so even if he reached his legs, it wouldn't help.

"Oh, you're still alive," said Areno in slight the top half of Hidan was split into halves, and the two parts fell apart while swearing violently.

Areno hadn't even moved an inch.

"How... is that possible?" Shikamaru asked, mind furiously running through possibilities. He had never encountered anything like this before, except...

"This is my Kekkei Genkai," Areno said, raising her hand. Immediately, gashes began to appear on trees, the ground, even delicate markings on blades of grass. "I can control it to such an extent that I am practically unreachable. Call that an _Ultimate __Defense_, if you must."

Realization began dawning on Shikamaru. "Then, you are-"

Areno disappeared.

* * *

><p>"The team for the Raikage was... successful." Izuna smiled, watching a huge screen that split up into multiple fragments, allowing him to view multiple places all at once.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Troublesome:<strong> This is all too troublesome to explain, but I'm back with information.

**FutureRokudaime: **IS IT ON BAA-CHAN? Dattebayo!

**Troublesome:** No, here are the facts I've gathered:

-The organization travel in pairs, like the Akatsuki. One of them distracts, and the other completes the mission.

-In the pair we encountered while on the way to Kumo, one had the Hyoton.

-The other one, Areno, was very fast. She had an Ultimate Defense.

**FutureRokudaime:** Like Gaara!

**Troublesome: **I have a hunch on who Areno is. Keep gathering evidence.

**FutureRokudaime: **Aye, aye, Captain!

* * *

><p>"Head out, Team Kakashi!" Kakashi said with an eye-smile.<p>

Itachi shook his head. "You got the name wrong. It should be team Itachi."

Kakashi looked affronted. "I'm the Jounin-sensei of the team! It should be named after me!"

"I was your team captain when we were both in ANBU," Itachi replied coolly.

"You abandoned Konoha, so you lost your privilege of having a team named after yourself!"

"We're in an alliance, so my privilege is regained."

"Team Kakashi!"

"Team Itachi."

"Team Kakashi!"

"Team Itachi."

"Team Kakashi!" Kakashi said, voice increasing in volume. Naruto and Khorale sweat-dropped in the background.

"Team Kakashi," said Itachi smoothly.

"Team Itachi!"

"Team Kakashi."

"Team Ita- Damn, you tricked me!" Kakashi said indignantly.

"Hn."

"Team Ramen," Naruto whispered to Khorale, who giggled. And since there was no one contradicting the name, Team Ramen was official.

Not that Kakashi and Itachi knew, of course.

"We'll tell them later."

"Speaking of ramen, let's stop at the nearest town! I'm hungry!" Naruto whined.

Itachi and Kakashi looked at each other, and shrugged. It couldn't hurt, could it?

Oh, how ignorance is bliss...

"Author, you're planning something, aren't you?" Khorale hissed quietly, earning herself strange looks from her team.

Who says I'm planning anything? *Innocent look*

"That innocent look confirms it."

Well, it's not like I'm telling, so run along now. Oh, and Hinote should be coming along soon.

"WHAT?"

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked suspiciously.

Ooh, deja vu! (From chapter two, or something.)

"Erm... you'll see soon," Khorale said nervously.

And that's when Naruto bumped into Kogane.

Both sides froze.

"..." Kakashi was stuttering so much that his exact words were hard to make out.

Khorale looked grimly at Hinote, who winked at her.

Naruto stared intensely at Kogane, who looked like someone similar, but he just couldn't remember exactly _who._

"Minato Namikaze," Itachi said grimly. "The Yellow Flash, student of the famous Toad Sannin Jiraiya, and the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha."

* * *

><p>Madara retreated further into his mind, trying to shake off the horrifying images.<p>

"Tobi! Take my place!" he said, not caring about the consequence, too hurried to get OUT of there.

"Nuh-uh, Tobi doesn't wanna!"

"Well, too bad!" Madara said, as he flung Tobi into the control room.

Back at the Cage...

Tsunade and Orochimaru were covering their eyes, but could not block their ears.

Danzo was sprawled on the ground, eyes unseeing, and was unlikely to wake up any time soon.

Sasuke just glanced away, having watched this before and grown used to it, so it didn't traumatize him as much as the others.

The Raikage and the Tsuchikage were still unconscious, so didn't react, and Madara was curled up in a catatonic ball.

Tobi suddenly sat up, looked at the screen, and gave a whimper, promptly curling up again,muttering about stupid Madara.

* * *

><p>Izuna finally ended the torture, deciding that it was enough. Danzo was not going to wake up for a long time, so he was actually doing the world a favor, locking the manipulative geezer up.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto stared in disbelief at the Yondaime Hokage. So many thoughts clashed together inside his head, so many unanswered questions. Finally, he asked, "Why?"<p>

Minato shook his head, and tried to pull his hood down again, but Hinote pushed it back up. "It's your confrontation time," she told him. "Face it, and don't be such a sissy."

Itachi had a few vague memories of the Yondaime before he died, or so they thought. "You wanted revenge. Your organization is full of people that were thought dead to the world, but still secretly in hiding, plotting. So tell us, what was it?" A crow flew up on a branch, surveying the gathering groups with sharp eyes.

Kakashi was still in shock. "S-sensei?" he finally managed to ask.

Minato sighed. "You are here to protect the Kazekage? Then I apologize for fighting you." With that, a single object was flung.

It was not a three-pointed kunai, but a boomerang. The boomerang was silver, and the edges were razor-sharp, providing maximum speed when traveling through the air. A single kaji of '速'_(Haya)_ which means 'Speed,' was engraved on both sides.

Finally snapping out of his shock, Naruto defended himself with several shadow clones, but to his shock, Minato suddenly disappeared and the boomerang grazed Naruto's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

When the boomerang was about to land, Minato appeared and caught the weapon easily, wearing thick gloves so that he wouldn't get cut.

"Why?" Naruto repeated his earlier statement. With a yellow flash, Minato disappeared again. Landing lightly beside the blond vessel, Minato disappeared again with a flicker. A whisper was faintly heard upon the breeze._"You still don't get it, do you? You're my son."_

Kakashi knew Minato was not going for the kill, but the blond Hokage was many times faster than he was before the Kyuubi attack many years was absolutely impossible to match him.

Khorale and Hinote sat upon a grassy hill, surveying the battle calmly.

"Do you think we should help?" Khorale asked suddenly. Hinote snorted.

"Nah, Kogane's winning anyways."

"We should cheer them on," Khorale said absently. Hinote shrugged.

"GO AND KICK HIS ASS!" Hinote suddenly called out, catching the attention of the shinobi. "KICK HIS GROIN! GUOGE HIS EYES OUT! BASH HIS HEAD!" she cheered him on.

Khorale rolled her eyes, but joined in anyways. "BREAK HIS NOSE, KAKASHI! AND PULL HIS HAIR! KICK HIS STOMACH!"

"Not as cruel, but it'll do," said Hinote as she eyed Khorale approvingly.

Back on the battlefield, neither side was winning, but Team Ramen (Kakashi and Itachi were mortified when the name stuck, but it was too late to change it.) was steadily losing.

Both sides tried VERY hard to ignore Hinote and Khorale's goading, though there was some good advice...

Itachi used his Mangekyou Sharingan, and black flames chased Minato, who disappeared yet again in a golden flash. The boomerang shot to one end of the field before doing a sharp turn and returning, just as quick. Faster than Itachi could track, the blades spun back and forth in unpredictable patterns, guided by the wind. Minato only appeared in small flashes, not stopping his boomerang, nor delivering a killing blow.

Several explosions occurred, and civilians were sent running for cover. It was only time before Gaara came to investigate.

"Why do you hate Konoha?" Kakashi tried to reason with Minato.

The boomerang stopped, and was caught in the hands of a very pissed off former-Hokage.

"Before I sacrificed myself to seal the Kyuubi in, I put the rest of my remaining chakra into Naruto's seal," the blond hissed slowly. "I saw everything, EVERYTHING through his eyes! The village ignored my request to treat him as a hero. They tried to assassinate him, they sabotaged his learning, and they betrayed him more times than I can count! And you, Kakashi, I expected you to care for him, to protect him. Instead, you did absolutely NOTHING!"

Kakashi flinched, but knew his teacher was speaking the truth. He could have made Naruto's childhood better, but he didn't, choosing to wallow too deep in the past.

"And then," Minato continued, "in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru messed with the Kyuubi's seal, the very thing that held my chakra and my soul in. The result was that I was let out. Nobody noticed. The rest should be obvious." He disappeared again.

A wall of sand blocked an incoming attack. Gaara had arrived.

Time paused for a few moments, as the Kazekage and the ex-Hokage looked at each other, but only for a second. Minato's hood hadn't even settled down on his shoulders before he was moving again.

Gaara's said deflected an attack his eyes had not seen, a blurred shape on the edge of his vision was all he saw before it disappeared. "Impressive," Minato muttered, but didn't slow down. Not even for a moment.

Kakashi tried to use Gaara's arrival as a distraction. He quickly ordered Naruto to form a Rasengan, hoping that the move would startle Minato enough that he and Itachi could capture him with their Sharingan. Itachi wouldn't even need the former Hokage to look him in the eye-

And explosion knocked him off of his feet, and Kakashi was propelled through the air as Naruto's Rasengan was countered immediately with one of Minato's own. Dust filled the air and blocking their view, and neither Kakashi or Itachi could see enough to target the Yellow Flash.

The dust suddenly swirled and turned into a whirlwind of glass, and Gaara spun it through the air, hoping that the constant movement of the winds would trap his opponent. The maelstrom was blown back towards him with winds that was not of his own design, and Gaara again saw that figure that reminded him much of an older Naruto.

He let the tornado die down, another wave of sand coming up behind the figure stealthily. It wasn't until his Desert Coffin was around the stranger that he heard the shout and looked down. His defense caught the boomerang before it could hit him. He failed to anticipate the blow to the back of his head, knocking him out.

Naruto let out a yell of warning, but it was useless. The Yellow Flash and the Kazekage were gone in less than the blink of an eye, only the wind finally dying down an indication that they had once been there. The last of the wind blew briefly across Naruto's cheek, and he felt unexpected warmth. His fingers flew to the cut he had received earlier on, but there was nothing there anymore.

* * *

><p>Izuna watched as the Kazekage was captured and joined the Kage in the Cage (get the pun?).<p>

"I suppose I'm the only person left that hasn't done anything yet, so I should go to Kiri," he mused.

* * *

><p>Kimmaro, Kakuzu, Kabuto, and Asuma were panting hard and sweating from the intense battle they were involved in.<p>

"Who the hell IS this guy," Kakuzu wondered, "to have defeated each of us soundly with ease? Not even Pein could have taken us on without a few Paths destroyed. But this guy..."

Kabuto healed the cuts and bruises on everybody. "I'm nearly out of chakra,so I'm out of the game. I'll leave it to you three," he said, and collapsed.

Kimmaro shifted into his Curse Seal Level Two form, and muttered "Dance of the Camelia ."

It was a kenjutsu style that Kimmaro had created for only those with the 'DeadBone Pulse' bloodline to use. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Kimmaro was the only one who could use it. Because unlike most sword styles, this style does not wield the blade in the hand, but it was much more deadly to mid-range and close range combat. It requires agility and speed as well as the previously mentioned bloodline required.

Bone spikes emerged from the ground and branched off more and more, until the entire forest was covered in what looked like steel wires.

"Impressive," Izuna noted. "But... not enough." He disappeared.

Kimmaro leapt nimbly, the bones passing through him like air. It was part of his own body, so it would not harm him.

Asuma raised his trench knives, throwing them into the air, and Kakuzu caughtthem with a thread and flungthem towards Izuna.

Surprised, Izuna turned slightly, the chakra knives only nicking his robe. "..." He turned and walked away. "By now, the shinobi of Kirigakure must have heard of the disturbance here. I will leave." He shunshined away.

There was a moment of silence.

"Now what do we do?" wondered Kakuzu.

"What do you think?" Kimmaro deadpanned.

Without another word, the trio (Kabuto slung on Asuma's shoulders) gave in chase towards the direction of Kirigakure.

* * *

><p><strong>Another Chapter come and gone! <strong>** I think it was the fighting part that gave me the most trouble. They took the most time****. Anyways, see you guys next chapter! **

**Next chapter: Killer Bee calls ****a**** 'Kage' meeting, Khorale gets mad****, and a monster is born... from Naruto's leftovers!**

* * *

><p><strong>Minato – Kogane (Gold)<strong>

**Izuna - IU**

**Z****a – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (****Illusion****)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**K****a – Areno (Desert)**

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter spoilers:<strong>

_"I don't even know Itachi could squeal like that!" Madara chortled._

_"What is the girl doing?" Orochimaru looked, eyes wide. Sure, he was a master of torture. But this was too cruel for even him. (I'll leave the punishment up to your wild imaginations)_

_"Ouch." Tsunade said, wincing. "The stick's on fire- wait, is she gonna shove it up-"_

_There was a terrible scream of pain, and the males in the group cringed violently and looked towards Kakuzu sympathetically._

_"That's GOTTA hurt." Sasuke said, shivering as he looked at the angry form of Khorale. Even if he was a safe distance away from the raging woman -coughdemoncough-, he still felt uneasy._

_Gaara turned away. Twitching slightly, but otherwise unaffected. He was used to deal with violent stuff after all._


	10. To Bee or Not to Bee

**Hey****,**** people! Is it true that I have an unique style o****f**** writin****g (****typing)? It's okay if you say no****.**** I just wanted to clarify stuff. ****O****n my old account (Peltra)****,**** people thought I ****had ****a bit of weird humor. Strange, huh?**

**So... who liked the appearance of Minato? I'm sure you understand why exactly he's against Konoha now. And since you know about him, then the identity of Aren****o (D****esert) will be easy to figure out.**

**I STILL feel like ****I'm ****letting out too many hints. Oh well****.****T****his time we're revealing Muse****i****(S****ilent)****,**** and you should all be ****figuring**** out who ****is**** i****n I****tonami.**

**P.S.**** You know what? After ****reading ****a few stories here and there, I realized that I just ****CAN'T**** bash somebody. I'm the kind of person who sticks close to the canon ****characterizations,**** and only rarely make people OOC. But even without bashing, my story (in my standards) is pretty good actually.**

* * *

><p>✿ Chapter 7: To Bee or Not to Bee ✿<p>

_Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer__.__ (I really have no idea what __this__ means__.__)_

* * *

><p><em>There was a moment of silence.<em>

_"Now what do we do?" wondered Kakuzu._

_"What do you think?" __Kimimaro__ deadpanned._

_Without another word, the trio (Kabuto slung on Asuma's shoulders) gav__e c__hase towards the direction of Kirigakure._

* * *

><p>Izuna dodged a few swipes of Kimimaro's sword, as well as the Mizukage's (Except for Tsunade or Gaara, I'm only referring to the other kage by their titles.) jet of boiling water vapor.<p>

Crimson eyes glowed as the world bended. Literally.

"This is just like Kamui, that Mangekyou Sharingan technique!" Asuma gasped, having seen it once before on a mission with Kakashi.

"Stronger," Izuna corrected. "My strange eyes don't really have a name, but considering they were not like this before I took them from the previous owner, I guess I'll call it the Mangekyou Byakugan. With this, I can bend_ reality_." The air rippled and swirled, intending to rip everything in its path to shreds.

* * *

><p>(Location: Itonami Room Thingy)<p>

"Riku! What are you doing?"

Utakata shrugged, and blew another bubble. It floated gently on top of a dirty dish. "It helps clean the dishes." And he was right. The once dirty surface was clean and sparkling. The others just gaped.

"Jutsu aren't allowed for everyday chores!"

"Chakra is just a tool. I will use it whenever it is required."

* * *

><p><strong>FutureRokudaime:<strong> SAKURA-CHAN! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT WE JUST FOUND OUT!

**CherryBlossom:** Does it explain your delay in returning?

**FutureRokudaime: **Hey! Asuma-sensei's team still hasn't returned!

**MindReader: **They'll come back. Now, spill!

**FutureRokudaime: **So, this was how it went. I bumped into some guy called Kogane, who turned out to be my father!

**CherryBlossom & MindReader: **WHAT?

**CherryBlossom: **You have a father?

**FutureRokudaime:** Furthermore, he's the Yondaime Hokage. Ring any bells?

**FutureRokudaime: **Hey, Sakura-chan! Ino! Answer me!

**FutureRokudaime: **Plz answer! Right now!

**BugBoy: **Somehow, this piece of news doesn't surprise me at all.

**Troublesome:** This is so. Damn. Troublesome!

* * *

><p>Sasuke was seething.<p>

Having seen Itachi pass by on that big screen multiple times now, without that damn (BEEP) even acknowledging him, was (BEEP)ing infuriating.

"Teach me how to defeat Itachi!" he demanded towards a newly awakened Raikage. Well, the Raikage was the only choice, since Madara was in 'Tobi Mode,' and most of the others awake were still catatonic after their punishment:having to see Lee and Gai in the bath. Naked. Why were they in the shower hugging each other anyways? But never mind that, I'm not sure I want to know.

"Well, Kid," the Raikage said, rubbing his chin, "the most effective moves are the ones you create for yourself. Take that Chidori, for instance. It worked the best with Kakashi because it was HIS original technique."

Sasuke sat and thought. What were his techniques? All his time with Orochimaru, and what had he actually learned? Sure, his taijutsu increased, and he could summon both snakes and hawks. But what about ninjutsu?

A few variations on Chidori, tricks with ninja wires, how to use the Curse Seal Level 2 effectively. But was that it? If that was all he had to defeat Itachi, then it was not enough.

Now, how to create a new technique? Sasuke scanned his memory to search for any interesting jutsu to start with, finally settling on the fight at the Vally of the End.

His eyes widened as he remembered the black, shimmering Chidori, the one that had overpowered the elemental difference between lightning and wind,the one that had won him the battle between himself and Naruto.

He had been concentrating so much on defeating Naruto that he had ignored a brand new technique! But how to recreate such a technique? The Chidori was normal even when he was in his curse seal form. So what triggered the abnormal change?

* * *

><p>Bones erupted from the ground, thick and sharp. They shot up so high they reached far into the sky, branching out the higher they went, creating a jagged forest of blades.<p>

"Dance of the Camelia , Level Three," Kimimaro said. "Give up; I'm in control of the entire battlefield. The bones will only grow closer and closer. You have nowhere to escape."

"Is that so?" Izuna chuckled. He flickered, and the illusion was dispelled.

"I must admit you are all formidable opponents, but you all failed to realize that the field was entirely in MY control from the beginning of the battle. The Mizukage is long gone by now." The shadow clone dispelled.

Kakuzu swore. "That was only half of his power! Just how strong is that guy?"

"If my analysis proves to be true..." Kabuto shifted his weight on Asuma's shoulders, "then I fear that Madara-san would be the only one who could beat him."

The others all stared at the medic-nin, surprised. "Why are you so certain? There are many other powerful shinobi who can-"

"No," Kabuto interrupted, eyes still staring ahead to where the clone had stood, a unsettling calm look on his face. "There's no mistaking it. UI is Uchiha Izuna."

* * *

><p>When Kimimaro's team (He fought the most, so it's fair it gets named after him.) returned defeated to Konoha, Kakuzu went to check up on his partner.<p>

"(BEEP), Kakuzu! You're finally (BEEP)ing back! Sew me back together!" the three halves of Hidan demanded. Kakuzu only sighed and got to work. Thick black threads weaved itself into the edge of the three Hidan halves, bounding the flesh together and waited for Hidan's rather slow regeneration to make him whole again.

"Figured you'd land yourself into trouble without me."

"HEY!"

After sewing Hidan whole again, the Akatsuki made their way towards the kitchen.

"I smell brownies!" cried Kisame, smacking his lips.

There was a plateful of brownies sitting on the kitchen table, freshly baked, and its aroma drew the Akatsuki towards it like flies.

"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Konan warned, but the others ignored her.

"Who (BEEP)ing cares about that?" said Hidan, stuffing his face full. "This stuff is delicious!"

"Women's intuition. Don't say I didn't warn you," Konan said, and walked away.

Soon, the plate was empty, and the group of S-rank criminals sat around the table, patting their stomachs contently, and burping occasionally.

Their peace was interrupted by a crash, and the door opened as Khorale walked in.

"Have you seen-" She froze as she looked at the sight before her.

Now, before you read on, I'll let you know a little fact: Khorale adores brownies. She loves them on the level of Itachi's adoration of pocky, and Naruto's obsession with Ramen. Possibly even more. See what I'm getting at right now?

Khorale loves brownies. She likes baking brownies. She likes baking brownies and eating them platefuls at a time. And what she DOESN'T like to see is for it to be eaten by somebody else.

There was a moment of dreaded silence.

"Y-you," Khorale growled, her frame shaking with fury. The Akatsuki (minus Konan) gulped.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

* * *

><p>"What was that sound?" Naruto turned around towards the hotel the Akatsuki was currently staying in.<p>

"I don't know," Jiraiya shrugged. "It sounds like seven voices screaming something like 'I didn't mean to!'. Strange."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "And what makes it even weirder was that it sounded like the Akatsuki."

"Nah, they wouldn't have been the ones screaming like a bunch of sissies. That'd annihilate their dignity."

"Never mind," Naruto grumbled.

* * *

><p>Inside the Cage, the occupants were currently laughing their asses off.<p>

"I didn't even know Itachi could squeal like that!" Madara chortled.

"What is that girl doing?" Orochimaru looked, eyes wide. Sure, he was a master of torture, but this was too cruel for even him. (I'll leave the punishment up to your wild imaginations.)

"Ouch," Tsunade said, wincing. "The stick's on fire- Wait, is she gonna shove it up-"

There was a terrible scream of pain, and the males in the group cringed violently and looked towards Kakuzu sympathetically.

"That's GOTTA hurt," Sasuke said, shivering as he looked at the angry form of Khorale. Even if he was a safe distance away from the raging woman -coughdemoncough-, he still felt uneasy.

Gaara turned away, twitching slightly, but otherwise unaffected. He was used to dealing with violent stuff after all.

The other kage were sleeping.

Sasuke tore his eyes off of the screen, and refocused on creating his black Chidori, which he named ShiTori, Death Birds. The reason he didn't name it Shitori was because it would be SHITori, which would cause him to swear every time he yelled it out. So, ShiTori it was.

Sasuke decided to try creating the ShiTori again, getting no results at all. There wasn't even a spark.

"This cage dampens chakra," Madara said lazily, opening one red eye (still hiding the Rinnegan one because he wasn't supposed to have one). "Doing anything less than using your full chakra reserves would be useless. And you need a kage level amount of chakra as well."

"I bet the dobe could do it," Sasuke muttered angrily. "I bet Itachi could also."

Madara just shrugged.

With a frustrated yell, Sasuke quickly shaped his hands through a few hand seals, his chakra spiking dangerously, and to the amazement of the other occupants of the Cage, a tiny spark of black traveled down Sasuke's arm and disappeared half a second later.

"It's going to be powerful. I just know it," Orochimaru muttered, staring at it. "What did you do?"

Sasuke looked at his hands, also disbelieving. "I accidentally mixed up the hand seal of Raikari with the hand seal of Blaze Release: Shadow Fire. Though I don't know how I even knew that technique at the Valley of the End. They were very similar, but still..."

"Lucky guess?" the Raikage shrugged.

"What is Blaze Release?" Tsunade asked.

Madara remembered that time from his original timeline. Sasuke had used the Blaze Release to exert _complete control_ over the Amaterasu. Not even Itachi could do that, as he had just guided the hell flames in the general direction of his enemies.

"Blaze Release is not quite a bloodline, as it doesn't reside in every single Uchiha," he explained. "It appears rarely in the genes, and has rather little use since it's very similar to Fire Release, only stronger. Blaze Release also exerts much more control over fire than normal. You can summon flames without hand seals, and you use far less chakra," Madara finished, and the others stared at him with wide eyes.

Madara rolled his eyes. "Are you asking if I have one? Nope, I don't. My brother does, though. And, speaking of my brother..." he suddenly stopped, as he remembered what happened to Tsunade when she almost revealed Izuna's identity. The occupants have all suffered greatly. "... well, you don't need to know." he finished lamely.

A piece of paper fluttered down from nowhere.

_Nice save. It spares me the trouble of finding something else to torture you guys with._

_Do not show this to anyone else._

_-IU_

* * *

><p>A messenger falcon flew through the air, and settled on Kakashi's windowsill.<p>

The masked nin's eyes scanned the contents, and immediately called a meeting for ninja that were jounin level and up,which meant that the rookie (maybe not so rookie anymore) twelve (Sai's filling Sasuke's place) were there too. The Akatsuki were too injured to participate, so all theycould do wassit in on the meeting while cringing away from Khorale, who was glaring at them.

"Kirabi of the Cloud has called a Summit Meeting in the Land of Iron. All temporary leaders will attend to discuss the war. I need to pick three of you to be my bodyguards, just in case the organization decides to target me as well."

'Don't worry, they won't.'

"You again," Khorale said, irritated.

'Yup! The temporary leaders are safe, 'cause they aren't the actual ones, and will just stop when the real leaders get back.'

"Well, that's a relief," a heavily bandaged Pein sighed. Can corpses even bleed? He was sporting a massive black eye and was limping slightly.

"I'll choose one from the Sound, one from the rookies, and Team Hebi."

Karin shook her head, and backed away from Chouji. Juugo shrugged and pointed towards Suigetsu, who just grinned. The rookies nudged one another, and finally decided on Shikamaru.

"Why is it always me?" the Nara groaned.

"You're very smart, despite your laziness," Sakura shrugged. "You can always find loopholes in the law in case you want something to go in Konoha's favor." The others all nodded, and pushed Shikamaru towards Kakashi.

Kabuto shook his head, and said he was going as the Otokage, so he couldn't accompany Kakashi. The sound shinobi looked at each other, and finally Kimimaro sighed and stepped forward.

And so they left.

* * *

><p>"Ero-sennin! Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled, running towards the sannin.<p>

"What is it, Brat?"

"A monster! It came from my refrigerator! My leftovers are alive, and they're planning world domination!" There was a moment of silence as Jiraiya tried to process what exactly was going on.

"If you're lying, Brat..." Jiraiya growled, but walked towards Naruto's apartment anyways.

Upon approaching the house, the ground began shaking. Now convinced that Naruto was indeed not lying, Jiraiya approached the area cautiously.

Slowly opening the refrigerator door, Jiraiya was treated to the horrible sight of-

"Ugh, what IS that thing?"

It lay flat on its stomach/mouth/teeth/suction-cup thing, whatever it was. Tentacles sprouted everywhere like a star fish, and a single huge eye stood on the back of the slimy creature.

**"Greetings****,**** humans****,****"** it said in a demonic voice. **"I am the leftover of the ten-year old ramen. I am here to conquer the world."**

Naruto and Jiraiya just stared,dumbfounded.

Naruto decided to ask the Kyuubi what the hell was going on, so he closed his eyes and entered his subconscious.

"Furball! What was that thing?" That was the first thing that left his mouth as he arrived.

**"Silence, you puny little human****,****" **the beast hissed. **"I, the Kyuubi no Yoko, will not be spoken to like that. Now****,**** apologize."**

Naruto grit his teeth. "I'm very sorry to remove the giant stick shoved up your ass then!" he yelled.

Crimson eyes narrowed. **"****Be gone****, mortal. Come back when you are more polite."**

Naruto opened his eyes. Not a second had passed in the real world. He turned to Jiraiya. "The stupid fox refuses to help me," he said irritably.

The leftover monster made a cute little growling noise and pounced, latching onto a vegetable that was lying on the other side of the refrigerator. After the juice was sucked out of the lettuce, it turned white.

Naruto shuddered. "Vampire leftover monsters. Great. Just great."

* * *

><p>Sasuke practiced again and again for the ShiTori, but nothing came. It was like he lacked power. He grit his teeth. How was he ever going to beat Itachi if he couldn't practice his technique?<p>

_"You lack hatred__,__"_ his older brother's words echoed in his head. Of course.

Sasuke remembered the spiking anger he had felt just before performing the ShiTori for the first time, and his hands flashed through a couple of seals carefully. With a look of satisfaction, Sasuke watched as a little spark danced on the tips of his fingers. It vanished earlier than before, perhaps because he wasn't angry enough. But it was a start.

"Remember, don't use too much chakra," the Tsuchikage called as he turned from a conference between the leaders. "We're planning to escape soon."

The Raikage turned back to the conference. "To break free, we will need outside help."

Gaara nodded. "The Yondaime Hokage is alive, as we have seen on the screen. That means the seal on the cage was his design. We're out our leagues here. The Yellow Flash is the greatest seal master in history."

"We need outside help," Orochimaru agreed, albeit a bit painfully. It damaged the man's pride to ask for any didn't count.

"I wonder..." Madara mused thoughtfully. "Remember last time, Tsunade and Orochimaru? I managed to contact the nine-tails brat."

"You're right," nodded Tsunade. "Naruto heard Orochimaru's yell, and turned his head. I still haven't asked you what happened yet." She shot a sharp glare towards Madara.

"Okay, okay!" Madara held his hands up. "I went into his mind, and we exchanged words. Then my chakra ran out, so the connection broke."

"You will contact Uzumaki again," said the Mizukage. "Share with him our ideas for escape. He will pass on the message to whoever we need."

In the corner, Danzo stirred.

* * *

><p>The meeting room was circular, with six seats. 火<em>(FireHo)_, 風_(Wind/__K__aze)_, 水_(Water/Mizu), _雷_(Lightning/Rai), _土_(Earth/Tsuchi), _and the newest addition: 音_(Sound/Oto)_

Kirabi cleared his throat, and motioned the temporary leaders to sit down.

Temari was in the Kazkage seat.

Kakashi sat in the Hokage seat.

Pein was in a hologram, since he was too injured (*Pein glares at Khorale, who glares back*) to arrive in person. He sat in the Mizukage seat.

Deidara was also in hologram in the Tsuchikage's seat. (I searched all the Iwa characters! The only other kage level ninja alive there is Deidara. So yeah, I have no choice.)

Kabuto sat in the Otokage seat.

They were the only people there. Their escorts were outside, guarding the Summit, along with the samurai.

"Okay, we're here to discuss and share our information on the Itonami," Temari said, using the name for the first time.

There were a few mutters of surprise as the information sunk in on the gathered people.

"Itonami, is it?" Pein asked. Temari nodded.

"Well, from what Konoha has gathered, it appears that the Itonami is aiming for world domination by kidnapping all the strongest shinobi in the world so that the rest of us will be left vulnerable.

"Is that so?" Deidara sneered. "Glad we're so _weak _then_."_

"Quiet, Deidara," said Pein.

"Oh please, Leader-sama," said Deidara. "I've lost my partner! My old mentor is also gone! We even miss that pedophile snake a little!"

Kabuto growled a little, not liking that his master was called a pedophile.

Pein only sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "From what Akatsuki has gathered, one of the members is Minato Namikaze,the Yondaime Hokage.

There were shocked exclamations around the room. Kabuto took deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating, Kakashi already knew, Temari blinked in surprise, and Kirabi-

"Er, who's this Minato again?" Cue multiple face-faults.

"The Yellow Flash, The seal Master of Konoha, and I repeat, the Yondaime Hokage," Kakashi said, rubbing his nose.

"Oh. Him." Another round of face-fault.

"He used a Hirashin boomerang that can continuously fly in unpredictable patterns and does not touch the ground unless he stops it. It's almost too fast for my Sharingan to track, and too fast to keep up with."

"I have clues to yet another one of its members," Kabuto spoke. "The one called 'Areno.' The team for Kumo encountered her. They said she had an ultimate defense of some sort."

Temari twitched slightly.

"As I was saying -and I think you all might agree with me- is that Areno could possibly be related to Gaara," Kabuto said seriously.

"There's a very strong possibility of that," said Pein.

Deidara shrugged.

"There was another member. Musei. Who could use the Hyoton," said Pein.

"No big deal," Kakashi said. "In Yukigakure, the hidden snow village, there's a lot of hyoton users. The only reason it mattered so much was because it was Yukigakure's only kekkei genkai. I can't imagine how it appeared in Kiri, as a gir- I mean boy, grew up there." He felt a slight embarrassment on almost calling Haku a girl.

"From what the Kumo team could tell, the man did not have the same build as any of the hyoton users. Where their structures were built for speed, this guy was for strength."

"Describe him more," Kakashi said, feeling a bit of dread. He had a feeling as to just who exactly it was... After all, the members of the Itonami were ninja thought to be dead.

"He wore a Kiri headband sideways on his head, and had spiky black hair. There were bandages covering the lower half of his face. Oh yeah, he had a huge sword too.

Kakashi groaned, and banged his head on the table. "Why does it have to be him?" he asked miserably.

"Who?" Temari asked curiously.

"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi replied, "the Devil of the Mist. I thought I killed him myself. How could he have been alive?"

Deidara shrugged. "Probably the way the Yondaime survived the Kyuubi, or how Tobi survived the fight with the Shodaime Hokage, OR how a jinchuuriki can survive an extraction."

"There was one?" Kirabi asked sharply, eyes drilling into Pein's ringed ones.

The orange-haired 'god' nodded curtly, and explained. "We did not know about it until recently. Zetsu had been storing the jinchuuriki bodies (you do know in the canon that fake-Madara's pathes are jinchuuriki bodies, right?), and reported that one was missing. Then we came across the report of Uchiha Sasuke missing by the hands of somebody that looked remarkably similar. We put two and two together, and figured out that Riku is Utakata, the jinchuuriki of Rokubi."

"Don't think you can just find him and talk some sense into him," Deidara said lazily, knowing what Kirabi was about to do. "He's beyond reasoning. Revenge-obsessed, he is, just like that Uchiha pipsqueak.

* * *

><p>"I'm NOT a pipsqueak!" Sasuke roared towards the screen.<p>

The others snickered, but it soon stopped as they saw the temporary leaders glance their way.

"No way..." they heard Kakashi whisper.

* * *

><p>"No way," Kakashi whispered. "Sasuke. I just heard Sasuke."<p>

The others nodded. Somehow, the missing people were watching them. Here and now.

"Hey, Tobi!" said Deidara. "If you can hear me, yell!"

There was a faint _"Tobi's a good boy!" _and then silence.

"We heard them," Kabuto said hoarsely. "Orochimaru-sama!"

_"Speak louder!" _There was Tsunade's voice.

_"Well, I'm trying!" _Orochimaru's voice rang out.

_"Temari, can you hear __me__?"_

"Gaara!" Temari said in relief. "Are you safe?"

_"Oh no__,__"_ somebody said,_"__t__he manipulative old coot has woken up."_

_"Who's a manipulative old coot?"_

"That's Danzo!" Kakashi said.

_"Ah, the connection's breaking!" _the temporary leaders heard someone exclaim. There was a rustle of static, and then, nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: The girl-guide cookies gags starts, the vampire leftover monster is exterminated, and Apples. Lots of apples!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Minato – Kogane (Gold)<strong>

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (****Illusion****)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**K****a – Areno (Desert)**

* * *

><p><strong>Previewspoilers:**

_Tobi was actually quite a brilliant actor. Perhaps because he was not real. Jiraiya was completely convinced that it was still Naruto talking._

_And then the leftover went for the instant ramen boiling over the stove._

_Inside his head, Naruto panicked. "NOOOOO! NOT THE RAMEN!" and red chakra began pouring out._

_"He's going four-tails for a cup of _ramen_?" Jiraiya asked incredulously._


	11. The Truth is Stranger than Fiction

**Hello again! Khorale speakin'! Wow... I'm updating chapters faster than I ****can ****write them, and I'm running out of stock! I'll have to put this story on ****a temporary ****hiatus****,**** and write at LEAST three more chapters. Honestly, I think a week goes by ****too ****fast...**

**So, who here ****has ****any guesses on how Zabuza ****gained ****the Hyoton bloodline? I don't have any ideas ****about ****how that happened, so MY guess ****is ****that his wounds on the bridge ****weren't**** grave enough to kill him. How he gained the ice release...? Well... perhaps he went to Orochimaru secretly****,**** and asked ****him ****to transplant Haku's DNA into himself?**

****P.S.** I HAD this whole chapter finished way way way earlier, but after an accident, 1/4th of it was just GONE! So excuse me if this chapter sounds worse than usual. I was in a bad mood when I wrote this...**

**PPS** how did ya like my new summary? I hope it would attract more attention as nobody has used this idea yet. Y'know, the whole Madara-travels-back-in-time-and-a-lot-of-changes plot.**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 8: The Truth is Stranger than Fiction✿<p>

_The filler arc begins! Operation __A__pples has begun..._

* * *

><p>"Who's a manipulative old coot?"<p>

_"That's Danzo!" Kakashi said._

"Ah, the connection's breaking!"_ the temporary leaders heard someone exclaim. There was a rustle of static, and then, nothing._

* * *

><p>After succeeding in communicating with the outside world, the leaders were exhausted. It took a HUGE amount of chakra to maintain the connection, and even then, it didn't last too long.<p>

Madara soon found himself in the vice-like grip of Tobi.

"Madara-san! You came back!" Tobi cried happily. "Tobi was sooo lonely down here!"

Madara scowled. "I didn't come back on purpose. And why the hell did I design you to speak in the third-person?"

"Tobi is not a design! Tobi is Tobi!"

"See what I mean? You need to refer to yourself in the _first person._ Like use I, me, myself, etc."

"Tobi, Tobi, Tobi-self!"

"NO, not like that! You say 'I.'"

"Tobi!"

"I!"

"Tobi!"

"I!"

"Tobi!"

And that was the scene Naruto came across as he walked in.

Naruto had gone once again to the fox, who had stubbornly refused to help him. He couldn't risk going out of the house and leaving ero-sennin to deal with the vampire leftovers alone. The sage was powerful, but none of them had any experience with such a strange occurrence. Naruto then remembered the two times Madara had come into his mind, and figured it could go both ways.

And so he followed a long hallway with Sharingan and Rinnegan markings on the walls, floor, and ceiling. He was still confused as to what the Rinneganwas, having not fought Pein in this timeline.

He had to admit, this might be even stranger than juice-sucking monsters from refrigerators. Why was Madara arguing with himself anyways?

"Oi! Madara!" One of the Madaras turned. The other one shrieked happily, and pounced on Naruto.

"Tobi!" Madara called. "You're suffocating the brat!" Tobi quickly let go of a blue Naruto, and bounced away.

"Ow..." Naruto moaned, rubbing his aching head. "Why is the other you acting like-"

"I'm not him. He's me," Madara pointed towards himself and Tobi, as if that explained everything. Naruto simply looked confused. "Tobi is a good boy. Madara's not," he elaborated further.

"Oooookay," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. "Listen, I need your help. A vampire born from my leftovers is roaming my house and draining my food!"

"?" Tobi and Madara tilted their heads as one, looking completely identical with their orange, swirly masks on.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but just help me," Naruto said, waving his hands around in a gesturing manner.

"Alright then, but I'm _unavailable_ right now..." Madara said pointedly.

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that." Naruto ran his hand through his hair sheepishly. "Why don't you try and help me by like possessing me, or something?" Then, as an afterthought, "Hurry up, before I change my mind about this."

Madara nodded, and headed down the corridor leading towards Naruto's mind. "I do expect you to pay me back though." Naruto groaned.

"What?" Even though Pein told Jiraiya that Akatsuki would stop hunting the nine-tails, he still felt a bit uneasy.

Madara shrugged, but Tobi spoke up. "Tobi will be gone soon. Tobi isn't useful anymore as a façade. Everybody knows who Madara is now. Tobi will fade away," he finished sadly.

Madara's shoulders slumped. He hadn't really thought about that before. He had been so happy to stop pretending to be an idiot, to stop pretending and to get down to business. He hadn't considered that he would miss the mask. "Ahem," he started. "Before Tobi fades away, perhaps we could do something to... cheer him up a little? Like a prank, or something."

Tobi noticeably perked up. "Yay! Tobi likes pranks!"

Naruto grinned. "I'm starting to like you, Tobi."

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang loudly, and Khorale opened the door.<p>

"Who is it?" she asked, but there was nobody there except for a box of Girl Guide cookies lying there on the welcome mat.

On top of it was a note.

BEWARE... THE GIRL GUIDE COOKIE GAGS BEGINS!

-KHORALE

Khorale sighed, and said "Author..."

* * *

><p>Madara, Naruto, and Tobi traveled down a narrow corridor, finally arriving in front of Kyuubi's cage.<p>

**"You again!"** the beast snarled.** "You vile****,**** wretched vermin! You will burn in the deepest parts o****f**** h****ell****,**** and-"**

"Save it," said Madara. "I'm here because YOU refused to help the brat. Don't blame me. But we need to talk." He turned towards Naruto. "Go on without me. Tobi can help you with the vampire. The fox and I have _things_ to discuss." Naruto nodded, and led Tobi towards the control room.

Tobi was actually quite a brilliant actor. Perhaps because he was not real. Jiraiya was completely convinced that it was still Naruto talking.

And then the leftover went for the instant ramen boiling over on the stove.

Inside his head, Naruto panicked. "NOOOOO! NOT THE RAMEN!" and red chakra began pouring out.

"He's going four-tails for a cup of _ramen_?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

Madara and Kyuubi paused for a moment during their conversation.

**"The brat... He's drawing upon my chakra****,****"** said the Kyuubi.

"Tobi, you can't just do this without something happening, can you?" Madara groaned. Then he turned back to the demon fox. "So... does my offer still stand?" he asked.

Kyuubi considered for a moment.** "Hmm****... a****s much as I wanted to refuse, this actually sounds quite interesting. Alright, what's in it for me?"**

Madara grinned.

* * *

><p>A Kyuubified Naruto roared, and swiped at the small green blob, neatly slicing it in half.<p>

The blob became TWO blobs, and Naruto bellowed in frustration.

Luckily, Kyuubi's chakra was acidic, which burned away the vampire leftover.

Unluckily, Kyuubi-Naruto could no longer tell friend from foe, and so it carried on rampaging inside the apartment. Strangely, the ramen was left untouched.

Already, people began to notice the malevolent red chakra oozing out. Everywhere, people began to panic, shouting that "The demon is back to destroy us all!"

Madara watched everything, slightly amused. Then he sighed, and activated his Sharingan.

_Kotoamatsukami_!

Slowly, the destructive chakra receded back, and everybody breathed a sigh of relief. ANBU burst into the room, only to find a bloodied Tobi-Naruto, a sheepish Jiraiya, and two burn marks on the floor.

"Err... You'll never guess what happened," Naruto laughed nervously, and Tobi returned to Madara's side.

"..." Madara scowled. Then he left, dragging Tobi away. "Come on. Next stop is Izuna."

* * *

><p>Izuna was sitting comfortably on his throne, with all of the other Itonami members seated around him.<p>

It was poker night, apparently.

But since they didn't have money, they used... Girl Scout cookies!

Oh yes, it has started! *maniacal laughter*

Izuna felt an intruder inside his mind, and immediately went to investigate.

Since going into one's subconscious didn't take any time at all, nobody would notice.

"IU!" three voices cried, tumbling into the room. Since Naruto didn't know who Izuna was, Madara didn't feel like making any more big revelations. Not after what had happened last time, when Tsunade ALMOST let it slip.

"What?" Izuna asked irritably. "Make it quick. We were having poker night."

"Tobi wants a favor!" the ever hyperactive 'boy' bounced up and down excitedly, dragging Naruto along with him. "Madara, Naruto-kun, and Tobi want to play a prank!"

"And why are you asking me for?" Izuna drawled.

"Well, who's in charge of the place here?" Madara shrugged. "Give us what we want, and we'll be on our way."

"As long as it doesn't involve setting you all free, I'm listening."

"We need apples," Madara grinned, and took a step forward. "Lots of apples."

* * *

><p>Sasuke sulked in the corner of the room. Just because he was a kid, and not in charge of a large amount of people, didn't mean he wasn't ready for politics! Madara was apparently asleep over there, and the rest of them were like "Go practice your ShiTori, or something."<p>

But, he tried to tell them, there was no target to practice it on!

And then promptly a box of Girl Scout cookies appeared.

Sasuke stared at it. And then stared some more. Finally, he gave a growl of frustration, and shattered the entire box with a well-placed ShiTori, which miraculously grew in size. His chakra capacity had gotten larger. Much larger, to have beaten all his previous attempts.

He smiled grimly, satisfied. One step closer towards defeating Itachi.

He knew that it was all Danzo's fault for the death of his clan, but strangely, at the moment, he didn't care. If his brother wanted to be killed, Sasuke would gladly comply, unless Itachi said otherwise. Else, he was going to honor his brother's wish, as absurd it may be.

That didn't mean he didn't hate Danzo though. That man would get his share of torment soon enough.

* * *

><p>After a round of explanations, Izuna agreed upon their plan, and the group discussed the details of their prank.<p>

Everything was sorted out, and would have been great, and the next series of events would NOT have happened.

If only Madara hadn't tripped.

If only he had rolled in the other direction.

If only he had landed _backwards__,_ instead of pitching forwards and kept rolling.

He was sent tumbling down a slope, and down the hall, and then crashed into the control room.

Oh dear...

"MADARAAAAA!" Izuna's furious shout could still be heard.

Madara winced guiltily.

Oops.

He opened his eyes, and found himself seated at the table with a pile of cookies beside him.

Oh well. He could just play along for now, and wait for somebody to drag him back...

**"Um, Madara?" **Naruto's voice rang in his head. **"That IU guy, he just stormed off somewhere****,**** and I don't know how to get you back without going in myself."**

_'What about Tobi?'_ Madara thought back.

**"He's gone... Did you two merge that quickly?" **Naruto sounded a bit sad. He had liked Tobi's sunny personality that was so much like his own.

_'Did you see where Izu- __U__h, I mean, I__U__ w__as going?'_

**"I think it was towards the direction of your mind."** Madara's eyes widened slightly.

'This. Is. Bad,' he thought to himself. Izuna was most probably inhabiting his body right now, and who knows what he would do to the others. He shook himself. He needed to be as convincing as possible, or people were going to notice. Already, a few members were shooting odd glances at him.

"IU-sama, could we talk outside?" Hinote asked, and motioned Madara to follow.

He groaned mentally. That fast? Was his acting THAT bad? But that couldn't be right... He had successfully convinced everyone that he was a hyper idiot for about five years. Nobody had found him out, except Pein, Konan, Itachi, and then most people in Konoha, and Ame as well...

Alright, alright! He was a bad actor!

* * *

><p>Izuna opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness.<p>

Darkness. It had worked, then?

He sat up, and scanned the room. Nobody was paying him any attention. The old coot seemed to have woken up. That was too bad. He should, perhaps, do something more_ permanent_ next time.

He smirked, and turned towards the only person not involved with the conversation. Another Uchiha.

As arrogant as the rest of his clan, it seemed. Madara was right to wipe out such a rotten to the core family. They were nothing like the Uchiha clan before Konoha.

Before they got pampered like kings, and had no one to deflate their egos.

Izuna touched Madara's -his- Sharingan fondly, the eye his brother had taken so many years ago. It felt_ right_ to have it back, like being home again after a long and tiring journey.

"Madara?" Sasuke's voice called out at him.

Izuna smirked. "Sorry, Madara's not home right now," he said sweetly, and flared his Mangekyou Sharingan. It was not the same Mangekyou that Madara had. Instead of three hollow circles connected in a triangle, his was a pitch black wheel, with three thick lines connecting the wheel to the edge of those vermilion orbs.

Sasuke took a step back, and so did the others, alarmed.

"Who are you, then?" asked the Tsuchikage, suspicious.

Izuna smiled slyly. "Who do you think?" And with a wave of his hand, the image on the screen wavered, and then changed completely. Now it showed the conversation between Hinote and Madara.

* * *

><p>Madara and Hinote watched each other silently in the garden, each waiting for the other one to start the conversation.<p>

The silence continued for a few more moments, until Hinote finally spoke. "Your eyes."

"What about them?" Madara said shortly.

"Between you and your brother, I can tell them apart instantly. His hold turmoil, and inner conflicts of emotions. He has the aura of a person who doesn't know his place in the world, enough power to control the world packed in one fragile human body. What used be so full of life is now withered away into a shell of his former self. He didn't mean to create this organization, you must understand. Like you to the Akatsuki, someone else is working behind the scenes, working on the ultimate master plan, a deadly plot for revenge, a thirst for _power._ I think you know this more than anyone else, Madara."

"Who-"

Hinote looked at him, amused. "You will find out in due time. Now you, on the other hand, your eyes can be deadly, a maelstrom of power clashing in an endless cycle? You have too many abilities, more than you should. But... different from before, when I first saw you. You are a hard man to describe, Uchiha. Perhaps the best word to describe you would be _unique._" Hinote winked playfully at him. "We have a while before the others get to have some_ fun?_"

"No," Madara said flatly.

Hinote turned serious. "I should warn you about this, though. Even though I maintain the balance of the ninja world, it doesn't stop me or Khorale, -not the goody-two-shoes Khorale, the Author-Khorale-, from doing things that could totally topple everything, throwing reality into complete _Chaos._" You could practically hear that capital 'C.' "Even after defeating your brother, the most powerful ace still remains. Do you have the power to kill him? You have a fifty-fifty chance of dying yourself. That, of course, can be avoided."

Madara frowned. "You are not going to tell me how to avoid my death, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

Hinote laughed. "No. That would be too easy. You are about to make a choice,one that will decide the outcome of what will happen. It could end the war, or possibly make it worse. You could die because of your choice, or every problem you currently have will be solved. The world could be torn apart, or mended back from dark oblivion. But first, take a look around you. We're outside."

Madara turned his head. "What are you on about? What is so important about...?" He suddenly stopped, and mentally went through the situation.

They were in a garden.

A garden was a grassy area _outside._

They were outside.

Which meant...

Hinote smiled darkly, the starlight reflecting off of her platinum blonde hair like sparkling diamonds, her figure making a silhouette against the full moon. Her eyes glowed eerily in the dark, and blazed like liquid silver, her cloak flitting about? (AN: Attention! People, don't get any weird ideas from this! Madara does NOT like Hinote.This story has CANON PAIRINGS, and the genre is not gonna be romance!)

"Choose now, Uchiha Madara. Will you leave now? Will you abandon your allies? Will you betray them? You can be go, as I am under the same rules as Khorale, so I cannot do anything to stop you. You can have the freedom you have so desperately sought. You may had hid it extremely well from the others, perhaps even from yourself. I know your deepest desires, as well as your greatest fears. You loved freedom more than anything else in the world, even now you would even abandon honor to even consider leaving your allies behind for your personal gain. And according to how much you've changed, it still surprises me. Trouble is stirring, and soon you would meet your match. The Blood-Leaf massacre will repeat." She looked at the shocked glance sent in her direction. "Perhaps you didn't know, then," she concluded.

"You could take this body, and disappear off the pages of history. You could settle down in a peaceful valley, living the rest of your immortal life in the mountains. No ninja business would reach you there. You could go back in time and start over again, and this time at the beginning so no ripples would be sent backwards. You could make everything right again. You could stop the Moon-Eye Plan, so that Utakata would not get involved. You could kill the Yondaime Mizukage-"

"But I am the Yondaime Mizukage!"

"-Then stop the bloodline purge. Zabuza would not have joined the Itonami. You could prevent the Kyuubi from attacking Konoha -which was completely His fault, by the way-, and Namikaze Minato would have lived happily with his wife and son. You could make a difference, Madara.

There is another choice. You could stay here. You could try and defeat us." Hinote grinned. "It could work, or it could not. You have a very good chance of being trapped forever in the darkness, and witnessing our victory over those who have wronged us, excluding me, of course. You could try to change everything for the better without going back,but it will be a long road of pain. Lots of pain."

Madara thought for a long moment. He'd admit, before this fiasco,before he traveled back in time, before all of this mess had started, he would have left without a second thought. But now...

_Weak... _A familiar voice whispered. _They filled you with lies__,__ and made you weak..._

Madara shook his head to get the voice to fade. No, he was not weak. He had changed, yes, but it was for the better.

_You used to take on __the__ nine-tails and come out alive__. __N__ow__,__ without me, you're weak__, _the voice taunted.

Madara gritted his teeth. He knew exactly whose voice it was and just how much trouble He would cause if -once- he gets out. 'No,' he told himself. 'I am better than I have been before. I will not return to a different time and do everything all over again. I will not start from scratch, to rebuild all the bonds that I have painstakingly made.'

_Isn't it better without emotions at all? _the voice mocked._ Emotions __can__ be used against you. I __will__ kill you before that happens._

"Enough!" Madara growled, Sharingan spinning and glowing a bright scarlet. "I'm staying, and that's final." He clenched his fist. He would not let _Him_ win, not at this stage, where the situation was so delicate and fragile. "I will not abandon anyone for the sake of my myself. I will not stand down and watch my bonds be destroyed. I will not lose." 'To both Izuna and Him,' Madara finished silently.

_Fine..._ the voice whispered. _You win this round. But I will be back. I always will... So watch your back. _Laughter. Insane laughter welled up in the back of Madara's mind as said person cringed. Naruto, thankfully, was long gone, as he had to deal with the aftermath of the leftover incident, and try to explain it to the ANBU. So, he did not stay long enough to witness the physical manifestation of the Voice.

Very lucky indeed, as He would have killed the blond kid without a second thought.

Madara gazed down at his own hand, watching the chakra flow inside his body. It was agitated and stirring. Something bad was going to happen soon. He just knew it.

* * *

><p>Izuna closed the screen with a snap. He froze the image of 'himself.'<p>

_If this is what I think it is__…_he thought, shuddering. No, it couldn't be. Because if it was what he thought it was, they were all in trouble.

Very deep trouble.

If Madara was hearing Him again, he must make preparations. Because if He got out... Well, the first time was a bloodbath. The voice had faded away into the deepest corners of Madara's mind after a certain Shodaime Hokage had assisted in sealing it back inside, but it had cost thirty Uchiha to even get near Him, and it was what had started the legends of-

"I'm going back," Izuna said in the calmest voice he could muster. "Something just came up, and I have to prepare."

"?" the rest asked. There were no words, just a general mumble of confusion.

"A storm is coming," Izuna said. "One that will be the greatest bloodbath in history, and no doubt be even better than _last time._ I will allow this, and only this once; you are permitted to communicate to the outside world for a single piece of information. Ask Khorale what the Ketsueki_(B__lood __L__eaf) _massacre was." He closed his eyes, and instantly swapped places with Madara, not wanting his brother or himself to take the long way back and risk facing Him.

"W-Wha?" Madara muttered, as he came to a spinning stop inside his mind. He staggered around for a moment before steadying himself. "The room is spinning... Hey! What are you all looking at?"

The others stared at him, then they clapped slowly.

Madara just gaped.

* * *

><p><strong>This is a huge plot twist. I <strong>**had**** not planned ****on**** Him appearing. In fact, I made Him up on the spot. So****,**** the future of the story will be affected by this change. A big time ripple I've caused!**

**Well, in the next chapter****,**** or the chapter after that, I ****will**** reveal who He is. So****,**** no worries!**

**Oh yeah, I forgot all about Areno! So****,**** since I didn't announce her in this chapter, I will tell you right now. She's Karura! Gaara's mother!**

**Next chapter: It's raining apples, the leaders asks Khorale about the Ketsueki massacre, and more on Him!**

**PS, Anybody want to make a trailer on YouTube about this fic? I wanted to do it myself, but didn't know how to make a video... (if you want to include Khorale in, just use Shizune. We do look alike, except Khorale's (not mine) eyes are green. For Hinote... Well, she has platinum blond hair...**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Itonami members:<span>  
><strong>

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (****Illusion****)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious people yet to be revealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

**Madara's little voice - ********

**Meimu - ********

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler<strong>

_"Tobi has returned!" Madara pitched his voice until it reached his usual childishness._

_"Wow, he's good." Tobi faintly heard Deidara mutter._

_With a flying leap, Tobi dove for the screen, sending him tumbling outside. Of course, he was only in a hologram, so he was not actually out._

_He then charged. Directly. Into. The. Portal._


	12. Fragments of a Shattered Soul

**How is everyone? I hope you have not lost interest in this story. As I read over my story, I found everything in a total mess! Chapter orders are being mixed up****,**** as well as the titles. I'm sure some of my older readers have noticed the absence of the Remembrance ****D****ay Interlude. I've..****. e****r..****. a****ccidentally deleted it. Sorry! **

**I have most of the Blood-****L****eaf massacre plotted out, but I wondered about other stuff. I had to keep the whole future of the plot vague, or else I would lose interest in it. I had once upon a time planned an entire Harry Potter fanfiction series out, but then quickly lost interest as soon as the details got plotted.  
><strong>

**P.S.**** I ****will**** alternate between**** the ****Ketsuek****i**_**(B**__**lood **__**L**__**eaf)**_**M****assacr****e**** and ****the ****Ryūketsu no ****H****a (****B****loody ****L****eaf). They are about the same thing, but there ****is**** a difference between them. ****The ****Ketsueki ****M****assacre ****was**** the first time the massacre happened. The next chapter****,**** or the chapters after that****,**** will**** be the second time, the Ryūketsu no ****H****a.**

**P.P.S.**** T****his is quickly descending into AU, as a lot of the following events ****have**** no place in canon.**

* * *

><p><em>"W-Wha?" Madara muttered, as he came to a spinning stop inside his mind. He staggered around for a moment before steadying himself. "The room is spinning... Hey! What are you all looking at?"<em>

_The others stared at him, then they clapped slowly._

_Madara just gaped._

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 9: Fragments of a Shattered Soul✿<p>

_The chapter ends... with a shocking conclusion._

* * *

><p>Khorale raced through the trees, her mind set upon reaching the Akatsuki base. She had to warn everyone about what she had just seen in the future.<p>

_Blood... __S__o much of it__,_ she shivered. No. She would not let that event come to pass.

Admit it, it's going to happen sooner or later, I told her.

Khorale's eyes narrowed. "Author..." she said slowly. "Stop what you're going to do. Now."

Sorry, no can-do. The last chapter I've made caused the biggest ripple yet. Now, the whole balance has gone. There are reality shifts everywhere, and I don't know what they will do... *Sigh*... If only Madara had chosen to go back. I wouldn't have to deal with all this right now.

"Hey! Don't just go blaming him!" Khorale said defensively. "Even though his choice made those changes, you are the AUTHOR, and you can CHANGE this."

Nah, as much as I wanted to spare some grief, sacrifices are to be made, I sighed again.

"Tell me! Innocent people are going to die! Are you still going to-" she was interrupted by the ground shaking slightly, with a rumble of thunder in the distance. "I-It has already caught up. So fast!" And she set off again.

In another dimension, I sat upon my chair in my studio. "His choice has thrown the universal balance off," I said disappointingly. "I can still make changes as much as I can, but I can't- No, _I won't_- let this fall apart. Just trust me, Khorale. I just have... a feeling that things will turn out good in the end."And with a click of a mouse, all was silent.

Khorale raced into the base, slamming the door shut and panting heavily. The others crowded around, some curious, and others worried.

"Ryūketsu no Ha," she repeated between heaving breaths. "Ryūketsu no Ha."

* * *

><p>Kakashi paused for a moment as he leapt from tree to tree.<p>

"Hm... The last time I had this dreaded feeling was just before the Kyuubi arrived upon Konoha." he murmured to himself.

* * *

><p>Kabuto stopped in his experiments, feeling a shiver down his spine.<p>

* * *

><p>Deidara twitched, his danger senses tingling. Yet nothing was there.<p>

* * *

><p>Pein's eyes rolled backwards, slumping over the office chair he was sitting on as he suddenly lost control over his Paths for a moment, before sitting up again.<p>

_What the hell was that?_ he thought.

* * *

><p>Madara had a bad feeling and a sense of foreboding.<p>

And worse, he knew what was going to happen.

* * *

><p>Danzo felt his sharingan eyes reacting to a strange feeling. His shinobi senses were tingling. (=D)<p>

* * *

><p>Anko halted as she descended upon the trees of the Forest of Death.<p>

_Ketsueki __M__assacre, eh? _she thought grimly. She had only heard tales about it from elders who had survived it. And she knew, and she was sure of it, that this time was going to be so much worse than the last.

* * *

><p>"It's getting closer," Khorale said as she peered out of the window. A pitch black portal was edging near, ripping up plants and demolishing trees along the way. It seemed to be drawn to chakra, the only possible explanation for why it was following them when it was not even alive.<p>

"Hidan could be the sacrifice," said Kakuzu, pushing said Jashinist forward. The silver haired man swore violently, and gripped his tri-bladed scythe even tighter.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR (BEEP)ING MIND? You (BEEP)ING (BEEP)er (BEEEEEEEEEP)!"

The others winced.

"Well," said Pein, rubbing his ears, "we can't send anyone outside, not even Hidan. A plot hole can have unpredictable results, and most of them bad. We need to do something unpredictable to throw everything back into balance."

The others just frowned.

"We need Tobi right now, un," Deidara commented. "Little brat is just as crazy as the Kyuubi kid."

Speaking of Tobi...

A huge screen suddenly appeared upon a blank wall, with images of the occupants of the Cage in front.

"Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear..." Kisame said in amazement.

"Hey, hey!' Madara snapped. "Watch who you're calling the Devil here!"

The others snickered.

"Oh, come on, Madara!" Itachi said, smirking. "It suits you!"

After everyone had calmed down, the Mizukage said "Khorale-san, we need to ask a question."

The other leaders nodded, while Madara seemed confused.

The girl shrugged. "Alright, if IU has actually _let_ you communicate with us, it must be important. But first, we have a destructive portal heading our way, and-" she was interrupted as the entire base shook, and then started to vibrate. It didn't stop.

"Holy (BEEP)ing shit!" Hidan exclaimed as he peered through the window. The portal had reached the stone wall of the hideout and was drilling into it, making a big hole. Just imagine the damage a regular Rasengan can cause, and then enlarge the Rasengan to the size of this portal (10cm width x 1.7m height. Flat.), and imagine the destruction that would cause.

They all shuddered. While it was not as bad as a Rasenshuriken, which this Naruto hasn't invented yet, it was still very dangerous.

"We need to do something unpredictable so that it will stabilize everything again!" Kakuzu barked. "Tobi! We really need you right now!"

Madara shook his head sadly. "Tobi faded... There's only Him and me left."

"Well, how did you create Tobi in the first place?"

"I don't know! I only knew he had a mind of his own a day or two ago."

Pein's gaze hardened. "We need the next best choice. And that would be you, Madara. You have pretended to be Tobi for of all people should be able to pull this off. Go into your Tobi routine _right now._"

Madara gulped and nodded. While it was a beat-down to his pride to let Pein command him right now, now was not the time to argue back.

_See what I mean? You are WEAK. With me, you could have won against the Kyuubi brat in your original time. You could have detected the explosion__,__ and __avoided__ all of this that has happened. You could-_

'SHUT. UP!' Madara thought back. The wall on their right shattered, and Madara knew he had to think fast. He flipped his orange mask so that it was right-side up again (in the previous few chapters, it was spun down to block the light), while wincing at the sudden brightness. Nevertheless, he carried on. It was embarrassing to be an idiot in front of people who actually knew of his true nature, but he was used to it.

"Tobi has returned!" Madara pitched his voice until it reached his usual childishness.

"Wow, he's good," Tobi faintly heard Deidara mutter.

With a flying leap, Tobi dove for the screen, sending him tumbling outside. Of course, he was only in a hologram, so he was not actually out.

He then charged. Directly. Into. The. Portal.

To everyone's relief, it flickered for a moment and then faded away, leaving a triumphant hologram Tobi standing in the middle of the room.

Then, the holographic Tsunade stormed in and dragged Tobi back by his ear, scolding the poor 'boy' on their way back like a mother hen.

The others, upon seeing this, burst out laughing.

_Tch... To let yourself be handled like this__,_ the voice commented. _I would have killed her by now._

'True... I may have done that once upon a time,' Madara frowned, 'but I have changed for the better. And my previous actions may have brought back Tobi.'

A malicious chuckle left Him. _'You don't know half of what you're dealing with,_ Madara.._.'_

Madara jerked upright. Why had He suddenly called Madara by his name? That had never happened before...

Something was going on.

"Madara! Are you even listening?" Tsunade's voice.

"AACK! TOBI'S LISTENING!" Tobi waved his hand around.

The others sighed.

"Okay, the threat's passed now... You can, er, go back to being Madara now," the Raikage told Tobi, who nodded enthusiastically.

"…We're ready now, so what are you asking about?" Madara said, confused.

"We're getting to it."

Pein motioned everyone to sit down. Holographic or not, everyone did as told, and made themselves comfortable.

Orochimaru frowned for a moment, not sure how he would handle sitting side by side his former comrades - the ones he had betrayed previously.

Khorale smiled. "Focus on the present, Hebi-san." The others snickered at the name. "Right now, it doesn't matter. We're all on the same side now. So, ask your question, and I will answer as best as I can."

"Fine," Orochimaru said shortly, ignoring the fact that Khorale could somehow read his thoughts. "What do you know about the Ketsueki _(Blood __L__eaf) _Massacre?"

SLAM.

Madara's face had gone pale (not that anyone could see while he wore the mask). His expression then twisted into one of anger as he walked stiffly out, a door magically appearing inside the room for him to be alone in -Probably by Izuna, sympathetic, as he knew what his brother was probably thinking- and slammed the door with incredible force.

* * *

><p>"I know you are here," Madara rasped. "Speak."<p>

A small screen shone upon a blank wall as a visage of Izuna appeared. "Yes?"

"Why. Did. You. Tell. Them. About. _Him_?" Madara hissed out as he tossed his orange mask aside, mismatched eyes flashing red and silver.

"You can't do this a second time alone, Madara," Izuna said, looking serious. "Last time, it took..." he trailed off. "I suppose you get the point," he concluded.

Madara ground his teeth. "That's not it!" he exclaimed. "This is nothing like last time! I have no idea how He got out again, and-"

"Calm down. The sudden change in chakra is making you more agitated. The seal's at its most unbalanced state right now. I shall have Kogane look at it once this is over."

Madara snorted. "Like hell. You didn't trap the others and I here for no reason. You wouldn't have done ALL of this if you knew we were just going to break out in the end."

Izuna grinned slyly, his own blank red eyes flashing with amusement. He hadn't seen his brother this riled up in a while, but the situation was quite grim. "You are stronger than me, and we both know it," he said shortly. "It may take you a lifetime, it may take you a second - but you are going to break out."

Madara nodded slowly. "But why this hassle then, if we are going to break out?"

Izuna smirked. "The objective of the Itonami is for the members to exact revenge on those who wronged them in the past. Most of them were assumed dead. The leaders were removed, albeit temporarily, because they were a thorn in our sides. But as soon as the organization collapses, you should be able to escape. We are not going to kill you, unless you are on a hit list, but if we killed you then we would have to deal with a lot more chaos. And look at the size of those reality portals." He gestured at an image of a portal destroying an entire town, killing anything living or infused with chakra. "If the strongest shinobi -the ones keeping balance in their lands- are dead, those could get a LOT worse. Perhaps one of those things the size of the entire earth could appear, or something else equally as bad. The author refused to tell us, and we are not risking ourselves."

Madara suddenly stilled as his eyes started to flash black. Clenching his hand tightly, he opened it, and then clenched it again. He repeated the action until he got his breathing under control. "It's getting worse," he whispered, his eye finally flashed and stayed red, and the other eye turned midnight black, with a single white slit for pupil. "I-_I_ d_o_n_'t_ t_h_i_n_k _w_e _h_a_v_e _m_u_c_h t_i_m_e_ l_e_f_t_." His voice got distorted, and there was an undertone to his sentence, like two people were speaking at once.

Madara closed his eyes, then opened them again. And to Izuna's relief, they were back to normal. The glowing white slit was gone, and Madara looked much more normal.

"…Don't get the others involved," Madara said, composing his face to one of indifference,the cold arrogance he had worn so proudly before everything happened. Before Konoha. Before Him. Before, when everything had been so less complex. Back when he was clan heir, and everything he said was to be law. "This is my issue alone, Izuna. You do remember what it took for him to be free last time?"

Seeing Izuna flinch, Madara nodded, expression still unchanging. "You are responsible for how I have become slightly... attached to them." He gestured towards the door, where the others were conversing. "The Moon Eye Plan will continue, with Kyuubi or not. You owe me." And with a single click, the screen went black, and the room was dark once again.

Madara frowned.

* * *

><p><strong>FutureRokudaime:<strong> Hey! Kakashi's back! Kabuto too!

**CherryBlossom: **I hate that medic... He's a traitor, not to mention how he's so smug all the time.

**Scarecrow has logged ****onto**** the chat room.**

**Scarecrow:** YO! How's my favorite little Genins doing? (AN: I don't kmow WHY they're still gennins, but... Oh well, it's for plot's sake.)

**BigBoned:** How did he get here? I thought it was Rookies only!

**Scarecrow:** I hacked. =D

**ShyGirl:** K-Kakashi S-Sensei, can we... um... h-have some p-privacy around here?

**Scarecrow****: *****Sigh*** Alright, alright... Let me tell you one thing though...

**Troublesome: **This is-

**WeaponLover: **Troublesome, right? Stop interrupting Kakashi-sensei then!

**Scarecrow****:*****S****weatdrop***Are you going to let me finish or not?

**FutureRokudaime:** Hehehe... Sorry, Kakashi-sensei...

**Scarecrow:*****Sigh***…We've been in brief contact with the missing people. Apparently, they are not in this dimension, or else the guards at the Summit would have noticeda bunch of disembodied voices around, and the leaders would have been found already.

**FutureRokudaime:** THAT'S the news? I knew that already!

**MindReader:** Yeah! Our idiot here has been in contact with Uchiha Madara a few times!

**Scarecrow:** What? Tell me everything, Naruto. Start from the beginning.

**FutureRokudaime****: *G****ulp*** Y-Yes, Kakashi-sensei.

* * *

><p>Madara stood in a make-shift arena, created by requesting a few plastic knives (as they wouldn't damage the place too much, thus avoiding chakra depletion) and a few targets.<p>

With a quick flex of his wrists, Madara made a beanbag explode by embedding the sharp edges inside it, loaded with quickly-fading chakra to enhance its speed.

He knew that using chakra in here would accomplish nothing. After all, the absorption seals on the outside would dampen any usage of it.

Madara spun like a whirlwind through the small room, striking at every target he could see. It was a great stress relief.

All of the knives hit a bull's eye.

_You know all of this is useless__ , _He sneered. _In the end, I'll beat you. Be gone, thief. I will break out sooner __or__ later, and there will be nothing you __can__ do to stop it._

"I make it my point to do anything you don't like," Madara deadpanned.

The voice snorted. _Your death will be more painful than the last. I will take great pleasure __in__ tearing__ you out from the inside. Thief._

Madara glared ahead coldly, not really looking at anything as he paused in his training. "You will find I'm not easy prey."

_Of course not__,_ the voice said smoothly. _I trained you myself, little Uchiha._

"That was before the massacre," Madara snarled back. "I hardly knew what you were, and without you, my life would have been much brighter."

_Oh, isn't this rich?_ the voice laughed. _Who is it that got their __ass__ handed to them by the Shodaime, the Yondaime, and the Rokudaime?_

"Naruto is hardly a Hokage."

He snorted. _No... __T__he brat is so much more. He __has__ surpassed all __of__ his __predecessors,__ and even killed you._

"No... I was not killed," Madara said. "I came back before the final attack touched me."

_Believe what you want, fake. Your little battle was what woke me up from __the__ eternal slumber I was supposed to __be__ in. __**I**__ activated the reversal in the time flow. __It helped__ weaken this damn seal__,__ and it __has__ been deteriorating ever since._

Madara sprang into action again, ruthlessly slashing and stabbing and cutting, doing whatever he could to keep his mind off what He had said. If that was true, then...

"Tell me," Madara spoke slowly, a merciless gleam emerging in his eyes, "do you, by chance know anything about the Kyuubi attack upon Konoha in both timelines?" His face twisted into a snarl. "And do you, by chance, know WHY I was blamed for something that I did not do?"

He could not see it, but he felt His face smirking smugly. _Oh__,__ that incident. I simply removed one of your most devastating __tools__, and did a little payback __against__ someone who has wronged both of us in the past... As for you being blamed... We are the same, after all. They would not even _dare_ acknowledge any possibility of me being back. So__,__ naturally__, th_e _only suspect was you. Unfortunately._

Madara's right eye -the one with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan- spun madly, glowing eerily in the darkness.

Sensing Madara's thoughts, He smirked._ Come and get me, if you can._

Without further prompting, Madara delved inside his mind.

* * *

><p>When he came upon his mindscape, it was not what he had imagined.<p>

What used to be a clean palace with gold lining decor and expensive jewelry weaving in and out of the curtains had now undergone a 180 degree change.

The floor was muddy, and the surroundings were a jungle. Literally. Vines hung from tall trees that one could not even see the tops of, and a muddy swamp covered most of the landscape.

**"I disliked the previous background, so I fitted it ****with**** my own ****preferences,****"** the voice echoed, but nobody could be seen. **"I will be waiting at the end of the hallway. You will come whether you like it or not, because you might ****find ****some very familiar people...**

Madara's heart skipped a beat. _Tobi.._

* * *

><p>The others shifted nervously as they watched an unmoving door for a looooong time.<p>

Finally, Deidara spoke. "T- Uh, Madara, seemed pretty pissed off," he said nervously.

They all had felt Madara's dark aura lashing out in invisible waves.

"I know the better details will be answered by Madara, if he's willing," said Khorale, looking at the screen again, "but I will tell you what I can. You all know about the Moon Eye Plan, right?" Seeing the others nod, Khorale shook her head. "It's a lie. Madara needs the Bijuu to kill someone very personal to him. He is-"

* * *

><p>Madara raced through the hallway, skidding to a stop as red Sharingan eyes met black ones with white-slit pupils.<p>

"Juubi no Senshi," he said calmly. "The ten-tails shape-shifter, otherwise known as Uchiha Madara."

* * *

><p><strong>I know it sounds confusing and all, but just bear with me! I've got it all planned out and everything! So bombard me with questions all you want, but I'm 'aint gonna reveal nothin'.<strong>

**Next chapter: Phrase one starts on all sides as hidden plans are coming to light, the explanations continue, and what the hell is Hashirama doing down ****here?**

**Itonami members:**

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**T****a – Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious ****P****eople ****Y****et to be ****R****evealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

**Meimu - ****** (Next chapter is ****the ****second part of the chapter, as I ****like**** a good cliffhanger, so she wouldn't be revealed yet!)**

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Some spoilers! Even though chapter 10 is currently 34th complete! I'm putting up a quick little peek.  
><strong>

_Izuna sighed and rubbed his nose. 'How am I going to explain this to him?' he thought. "Minato, check on the Juubi seal currently located in Uchiha Madara's mind."_

_There was a stunned silence._

_..._

_"You want me to WHAT?"_


	13. Spiral into Darkness

**I'm still looking for a beta reader, y'know. I only have one single person responding to my request from yesterday.**

**It's a bit disappointing.**

**You know, this plot is not EXACTLY what I have imagined in the beginning. Sure it's only veered off track a LITTLE, unlike my other stories on my other account... But I did not, at first, predict the existence of Juubi and had it click into my story so well... *sweatdrop***

**And then, did I mention that when I first wrote this story, I had no idea who kidnapped Madara and co. So first, I came upon the idea of aliens. THEN, I think, 'nah, I'm not doing any AU stuff'. So then I erased the idea and replaced it with fangirls! But then, it's no use as the Mizukage and Tsunade was female, so unless there are lesbians... So finally, I had an idea of dead people that are not-so-dead and seeking revenge! And taa daa! Instant Itonami idea!**

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 10: Spiral into Darkness✿<p>

_Many secrets are revealed, an epic battle, and didn't I mention something about Hashirama?_

* * *

><p><em>Madara raced through the hallway, skidding to a stop as red Sharingan eyes met black ones with white-slit pupils.<em>

_"Juubi no Senshi," he said calmly. "The ten-tails shape-shifter, otherwise known as Uchiha Madara."_

* * *

><p>"No way!" Deidara exclaimed after hearing Khorale's rather simple explanation. "Tobi is not a Bijuu, un!"<p>

"Well, you do know the tale of Rikudou Sennin, right?" seeing everyone nod, Khorale continued on. "Juubi's body was sealed into the moon, his chakra divided into the other Bijuus. But did you ever wondered what happened to it's soul? A demon can't just _die_, even if it's only a mass of spiritual consciousness. So it needed to be reincarnated. And guess who the lucky baby was?" Khorale finished, glancing at her slack-jawed audience.

"What about Madara?" Gaara asked slowly. "If the Juubi is not who we faced all those years, then who is _our_ Madara?" the others nodded in agreement.

"Since a fragile human _baby_ mind couldn't put up with the pressure of such a powerful being, Juubi simply retreated into the back of his mind and hibernate. But a person's mind can't just be blank for that long without being called brain-dead, a split personality was created." said Khorale.

"WAIT A (BEEP)ING MINUTE!" Hidan said, putting his hands up, "So that means (BEEP)ing Madara is a (BEEP) split personality and (BEEP)ing TOBI was the (BEEP)ing split personality of a (BEEP)ing split personality?"

"Since when is Hidan intelligent?" Kakuzu wondered. Hidan glared at him.

"Stop ruining the (BEEP)ing mood!"

"Guys." Khorale interrupted drily. "May we continue? Good. So after a few years, Juubi is starting to wake from its sleep, and wanted control back. Of course, Madara held him off until a certain incident. And that directly led into the Ketsueki _(Blood leaf_) massacre."

"What incident?" asked Sasori."

Khorale grimaced, "It's not in my place to tell, sorry!" the others blinked. "And shouldn't you be going to check up on Madara now? To make sure he's okay..."

Pein snorted. "He's the strongest of us here! If there's something even _he _could not handle, then we're definitely screwed."

* * *

><p>Izuna paced inside his studio.<p>

How is he going to stop the Ryūketsu no Ha? It was not like he was present during the Ketsueki massacre, having 'died' shortly before that...

Geez, Madara was really stubborn.

Insisting to do everything alone, getting a _RIN'NEGAN_ out of freakin' nowhere, developed his own split personality, and now the history's rapidly repeating...

And if the patterns continue like this, Izuna was going to 'die' again.

Speaking of which, he still didn't know how he survived last time.

Freak accident?

...

Yeah, let's go with that...

* * *

><p>Tauyua was not a naturally patient person.<p>

"OPEN THE GODDAMNED (BEEEEEEEEEEP)ING DOOR, YOU (BEEEEEP) OF A (BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP)! (BEEEP) YOU (BEEEP) (BEEP)IN ASS OUT OF THE (BEEEEEP)ING BATHROOM!"

A muffled voice came from inside. "I can't! I'm changing right now so if you want a view of my hot naked body..."

Tauyua screamed in frustration and did a solid genjutsu of clothes onto Zabuza.

"Now," she said in a dangerous voice as she opened the door. "Unless you get your (BEEP)ing ass OUT of here, I'm going to cancel out this genjutsu while you are walking on a busy street!"

Zabuza cringed. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

><p>"Did you want me here?" Minato asked as he stepped in Izuna's studio.<p>

"Yes, actually." said Izuna. "I suppose you know most of the member's identity now?" seeing the man's hesitant nod, Izuna shrugged. "I'm not going to punish you or anything. It makes things easier."

Minato blinked. "How so?"

Izuna sighed and rubbed his nose. _'How am I going to explain this to him?' _he thought. "Minato, check on the Juubi seal currently located in Uchiha Madara's mind."

There was a stunned silence.

...

"You want me to WHAT?"

* * *

><p>Another figure stepped out of the shadows and Madara's eyes widened, then narrowed.<p>

"You!" he barked at Hashirama. "What the _(BEEP)_ are you doing in my mind?" he was about to whip out his war-fan when Hashirama held his hand up in a surrendering gesture.

"I'm not the real Hashirama. He died decades ago." Hashirama stepped away. "I'm put here as a fail-safe in case -"

"Wait." Madara interrupted him. "You. Are. Not. Making. Any. Sense."

Hashirama looked at him. "You really have changed... Before, you would have attacked me before I even started speaking."Since you seemed very confused, we're taking a tour into your memories. But first," he put his hand on the ground and thick vines appeared from the muddy surface of a swamp. It engulfed the Juubi and formed a large sphere.

"That should hold him for a while." Hashirama glanced back. "Better not risk any high emotion. I don't know how long it would last." And he was right, black chakra began lashing out and burning everything in it's path. "Shit. We've got to hurry." he grabbed Madara's wrist and yank him in a direction.

"And why do you think I'm going to listen to you? Teme." Madara growled, trying to jerk free.

Hashirama shook his head sadly. "I need to know whether I did the right choice or not, giving you the wood release. And I suppose since Konoha is not burnt to a crisp right now, it was the correct decision."

Together, the duo walked down a hallway, finally stopping at a door.

"We're here." said Hashirama, his voice echoing in the empty room that was filled with fog. "See for yourself, the Blood Leaf Massacre. Fill in the holes in your memories, and watch the truth unfolds. Behold; the secret behind the fateful battle of the Valley of the End."

Madara snorted. "A tad to dramatic, aren't you?" he noted, and walked inside.

* * *

><p><em>Madara was shocked. Angry, even.<em>

_How DARE that Senju take what was rightfully his? _

_"I'm supposed to be the Hokage!" he roared towards the heavens._

_Suddenly he stilled. His eyes flashed black. Back to red. Black. And red again._

_'What the hell?' he thought, suddenly feeling dizzy. Shaking his head, Madara headed off._

_'Stupid Senju.' Madara thought angrily. 'Stupid Konoha. I'm going to visit Izuna. He's very vulnerable in his blind state-'_

_Madara whipped around, embedding a few kunais in the other direction. _

_Somebody was following him._

_"Come out." Madara called out warily. Even if he was one of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha, it doesn't mean he has to be careless._

_An ANBU squad stepped out of the shadows. They spoke in unison, their voices carefully neutrual._

_"By the orders of the Uchiha, you are to be eliminated."_

_Madara's eyes widened with shock. "They can't do that!" he protested. "You must have gotten a wrong person! I am an Uchiha myself, it's against the law to order the death of your own family."_

_"They have disowned you, child. You were too stubborn in your own ideals that you are destroying other people's lives."_

_Madara laughed, his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan spinning wildly. "Is that all?" he asked bitterly. "My clan pushed me to become strong, and when I exceeded their expectations they came to fear me! And to use this pathetic excuse to cover up their actions."_

_The ANBU looked unmoved. "I am only following orders." he said, drawing his sword. The others followed through. Madara raised his scythe. _

_Without a single sound, the fight started._

_The Uchiha clan had chosen Konoha's best fighters, with thirty or more Uchihas hidden in the trees._

_'To make sure I don't escape.' Madara scoffed._

_As both sides fought, the headaches came again. Pain clawed at Madara's mind as though someone -or something- was trying to force their way out._

_Perhaps it was._

_"Amaterasu!" Madara shouted as the ANBU squad was burnt alive._

_Instantly, thirty more fighters showed themselves._

_Being the small boy he was, Madara could not just overpower all of them. He was battered, drained and tired. Now if only..._

_**"Let me out..."** his own voice, albeit more demonic sounding, echoed through his mind._

_Madara held his head, trying to clear the haze that suddenly clouded his mind. Making it harder to think properly._

_An Uchiha took that as an opening to attack._

_His kunai cut deep into Madara's shoulders, nearly tearing it off. The boy collapsed upon the forest floor, trying to fend off the sharp pointy objects from killing him._

_"Izuna..." Madara whispered. He would never see his brother again. _

_Images of his prescious brother echoed though his mind, making everything clearer._

**_"Let me out. I will let you see him again. I will end those pathic people you had once called family. LET. ME. OUT!" _**_There was that voice again..._

_Madara raised his head slightly and blocked another sword that came crashing down, trying to pierce his head._

_"Izuna?" the Uchiha gloated. "You mean your pathetic brother? We killed him. He put up a good fight, but in the end it wasn't enough." he said nonchalantly. "He was a skilled little brat, but a blind Uchiha is a disgrace to our clan!"  
><em>

_Madara's blood ran cold. "Say that again?" he asked in a dangerously soft tone. The others recognized the tone and flinched, but this ignorant ninja prattled on. _

_After all, what could one injured ninja do?_

_He found out soon enough as his head was separated from his body._

_Madara stood up slowly, his scythe soaked with scarlet blood. Black chakra danced across his wounds, closing them instantly._

_One of his eyes was black with white slitted pupil._

**_"Yessss..." the voice hissed. "Unleash me and I shall take revenge. You want them dead. Your brother was killed by leaf ninja. Free me, and you shall get your sweet vengeance."_**

_'Fine.' Madara thought back, fury clouding over his reasoning. 'do as you want.'_

_His other eye turned black._

* * *

><p><em>Senju Hashirama noticed something wrong.<em>

_It could be how the Uchiha district was much too quiet today._

_It could be how Madara was missing._

_It could be how a large portion of ninjas ALSO missing._

_And lets not forget a wave of dark chakra slammed into Konoha like a brick wall._

_That doesn't bode well._

_The killing intent that filled the air was simply _inhuman._ Dark lances of energy made the air buzz with terror._

_And in the midst of it stood Uchiha Madara._

_Slowly, Madara turned around and Hashirama knew that this person simply could _not_ be Madara._

_There are no words to describe why, he just isn't._

_Not-Madara opened his eyes and Hashirama gasped at the black eyes with a white slit for pupil._

**"Oh yesss..."** _Not-Madara hissed. **"I have been craving blood for the longest time..."**_

_"Who- who are you?" Tobirama demanded. _

_Not-Madara laughed. **"I am Madara Uchiha, of course!"**_

_Hashirama eyed 'Madara' warily. "You are not Madara." he stated._

_**"Not the one you knew of."** Not-Madara smirked. **"I believe you would recognize me better if I call myself Juubi."**_

_Both Hashirama and those in hearing range froze, their eyes bugging out almost comically._

_"There are no such things as a ten tail." Tobirama said nervously. "The strongest bijuu is the Kyuubi!"_

_Hashirama shook his head. "There was a legend of Juubi. The Sage of the Six Paths sealed it into himself, and then into a moon while dividing the chakra into the nine bijuus."_

_**"Somebody's doing their history homework." **Juubi said approvingly. **"For years I have wandered the world as a spirit. Unable to feel, unable to taste, unable to kill. Though I am not as powerful with some human limitations, this would do... for now." **as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the forest._

_One by one, shinobis started to drop, blood spraying from the wounds created from invisible blades of wind._

_Only Hashirama, Tobirama, and Juubi are unscathed._

_"Heh. The leaves are stained with blood. This a massacre." Tobirama said humorlessly. "We are so dead."_

_Hashirama paused for a moment. "Tobirama, head back."_

_His brother gave a startled shout. "WHAT? You're going to sacrifice yourself? That's cheesy! Even for you!"_

_Hashirama's eyebrow twitched. "No matter who he was, Juubi's still Madara. I will find a way to beat him. I just need to get us both to an isolated area so nobody will be caught in the crossfire._

* * *

><p>"I didn't remember that." said Madara as he suddenly poked his head out of the door. "So how are those memories there?"<p>

"Well... when I came here, your memory of the massacre has blanks in it. And I filled it using my memories."

Madara sighed. "Well, I don't want to watch for that long as Juubi might get out from back there, so let's skip the battle.

And so the memories continued.

* * *

><p><em>With a special seal, Juubi was now returned to the depth of Madara's mind and hibernating away.<em>

_But just because Juubi was sort-of defeated, doesn't mean Madara would just slump down and sleep._

_No, the little Uchiha just HAD to make things more difficult._

_"Fire release: Grand fireball!"_

_"Earth release: Avalanche!"_

_The two devastating attacks clashed together and a gigantic cloud of dust blocked all vision._

_A silence settled on the battlefield._

_It was not much of a battlefield anymore, the previous deep lake splashed down to create a water fall while wedged between two enormous stones. The previously empty field could not be called a field anymore. It was a valley._

_The valley that marked the end of the Ketsueki massacre._

_On the opposite sides of the lake, Hashirama and Madara stood face to face._

_"Come back with us, Madara. Please."_

_"No." Madara snapped angrily. "Konoha has killed the only person I had ever cared for. My own clan exiled me. What's there to return to?"_

_Hashirama bowed his head._

_ Madara stood facing against Hashirama Senju. Both of them are battered and tired, receiving numerous wounds from __their __legendary battle__,__ and __neither__ of them had even a drop of chakra left._

_Panting heavily, Madara and Hashirama stared each other down. The first one to fall would be the first one dead, they realized. Both are so tired that they __can__ barely stand, though they knew deep down who would win in the end._

_Hashirama won. __'__He always does__,'__ Madara thought bitterly. He had bested Madara in the Hokage election, he had stolen the Kyuubi from Madara's control__,__ and had sealed it into his wife, Mito__, __h__e had the Mokuton__,__ powerful enough to transform a desert into a jungle. Hashirama always __got__ the most attention, the popularity, the __credit__._

_Madara fell._

_Hashirama stared at the unconscious body of his nemesis. He knew that none of the Ketsueki massacre had been his fault. Hashirama should have watched his subordinates more carefully._

_"I'm sorry..." his whisper carried over the wind. Slowly, his hands reached down and placed them onto Madara's chest, embedding a special chakra inside the seal. If He ever comes back, a little bit of Hashirama's soul would be there as a fail-safe, guarding the Uchiha's mind from harm._

_"And if everything fails... If my piece of soul cannot accomplish the task... I left you a gift. Madara, you are now capable of using wood release." he owed the man as much, and he was sure that Madara would hate him with the fiber of his being after he woke up. "I suppose I deserves it." Hashirama murmured._

_"To prevent anyone going after you, I shall tell them that I have killed you and burned your body. I realize doing so will be a mistake, but... Stay alive, Madara. The world needs you more than I do."_

_And so he left, knowing that he was making the biggest mistake of his life, and that the leaf completely deserves it._

* * *

><p>"So..." said Orochimaru. "The door was locked?"<p>

"Yes." Gaara confirmed. "I heard no sound inside, but he's inside there." he frowned. "Shukaku is oddly quiet. As if he was afraid of something..."

"You think we should leave him there for now?" the Raikage asked.

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged.

"You think HE caused it?" Danzo asked, surprised.

"Hn."

"Yes. A very large possibility of it."

"Hn. Hnnn Hn. Hn, hn hn hn!" said Sasuke.

"So it could be worse than LAST time? Count me out."

"Excuse me, but how the hell do you understand all this from grunts?" asked Tsunade in wonder.

Danzo smirked. "There are secret scrolls in the Uchiha compound. 'Divine language of the Uchiha' as they called it."

"What was Sasuke saying, then?"

"He said that the toilet was overflowing." Danzo said blandly.

* * *

><p>Minato took a deep breath. "So." he said, trying to keep his tone even. "You want me to go. Into. A. Mind. And. CONFRONT <span>THE<span> JUUBI? The most. Powerful. Being. In. The. Entire. Freakin'. Universe!"

"Yes, that's about it."

Minato took another deep breath. "Fine. You owe me now." and disappeared in a flash of yellow.

* * *

><p><strong>DogBreath: <strong>Everything's calm so far, but I keep get the sense that something would happen soon. Akamaru kept barking at the moon and that's usually not a good omen."

**WeaponLover: **Yeah right.

**DogBreath:** I swear! It's true! Last time Akamaru did that, the hokage disappeared!

**MindReader: **Alright! We believe you! But this must stay between the rookies.

**FateGuy:** Ahem.

**MindReader: **Team Gai too.

**SandFan:** AHEM.

**MindReader:** Ah yes, the Sand siblings also.

**Scarecrow: **Ahem.

**FutureRokudaime: **How the hell did you get here again?

**Scarecrow:** I hacked. =D. Again.

* * *

><p>A burst of chakra drew Madara's attention away from the door.<p>

"He's breaking my jutsu!" Hashirama said. "Leave quickly. Your presence in your mind gives him strength. Just go. I'll reinforce the barrier."

"Tobirama was right." Madara scoffed. "You're too cheesy for your own good."

Hashirama's eyebrow twitched. "Just go!"

* * *

><p>Half a dozen people sweatdropped.<p>

"You were discussing a _toilet?"_ the Tsuchikage asked incredulously, not believing what he was hearing. "We were all thinking that you were talking about the Juubi!"

"No." Danzo said, shaking his head. "So this was what happened:"

_FLASHBACK_

_"You think we should leave him there for now?" the Raikage asked._

_"Fine, it was Madara's fault anyways that the toilet was overflowed ." Sasuke shrugged._

_"You think HE caused it?" Danzo asked, surprised._

_"Yeah. I went to the bathroom after him, and before him there was nothing wrong with it."_

_"Yes. A very large possibility of it."_

_"I already said that. It's not like I caught him in the act. Last time he lost his ring down there and it created a blockage, this time, it was his mask!" said Sasuke._

_"So it could be worse than LAST time? Count me out."_

_"Excuse me, but how the hell do you understand all this from grunts?" asked Tsunade in wonder._

_FLASHBACK ENDS_

"...Oh." said the Mizukage. "That was actually possible. I apologize for jumping to the wrong conclusion."

"We all did." Gaara said with a shrug.

All of a sudden, a door opened and there stood Madara, looking tired and stressed.

"I need to sleep."

* * *

><p><strong>Next: Operation Escape begins, the girl guide cookie gags continues, and a paper might JUST help with something.<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Itonami members:<strong>

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**Tauyua– Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious ****P****eople ****Y****et to be ****R****evealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler:<strong>

_Madara could only stare incredulously at the two of them. "Yondaime? What are you doing here?"_

_"Because I'm also awesome."_

_..._

_..._

_"Yeaaaaaah, I'll believe you when the moon comes crashing down."_

_CRASH._


	14. Interlude: Madara's Birthday

**Hell yes! T'day's Madara's birthday! And it's Christmas eve! So that means... tomorrow will also have an interlude! Wow, I don't think I would do one for boxing day, that would be too much interludes and no story. So sorry!**

**I'm sorry about the lack of chalter this week, but chapter 11 is not finished. TT_TT;**

* * *

><p>Madara had the flu.<p>

It has been weird for him all day long, the world had decided to start spinning like a merry-go-round, and-

"Kurenai! Would you stop bothering me?"

Anko looked at him oddly. "I'm not Kurenai." she said, slightly upset that he apparently had not recognized her."I'm Anko."

"Kurenai, Anko. Whatev'r." Madara slurred, slightly stumbling as he staggered past her. "I thoug't y'r a lesbi'n."

Anko's eyebrow twitched. "Just what was wrong with you, Uchiha?"

"Nothin'. Just a lil' flu. It'll pass. Now m'question?"

"I play for both teams." Anko said. Madara has the flu, eh? "What about you, Uchiha?"

"I dunno what y'r on about, I play for that team, the WINNING team. Y'kno'? D' Akatsuki." Madara muttered, not recognizing the idiom in his feverish mind.

Anko grinned. Now THAT was interesting. "So, you have it hot for everyone in the Akatsuki?" she smirked slyly.

Madara shook his head, trying to clear the hazy thoughts but only succeeding in making himself even dizzier. Somehow, he had the feeling to defend his pride, but he just shrugged it off. "What's hot? I'm cold right now." he shivered in the warm breeze.

Anko lifted an eyebrow. "You should come by to my house." she offered, smirking. "My bed is REALLY warm."

"No." Madara said flatly. Something in his blurry memories told him that accepting would be a BAD idea.

Anko seemingly deflated. "Awww, Uchiha! You always turn down a pretty girl's request! First Hinote, and now me! Sometimes I think you're gay." she looked at him, hoping for an reaction.

"'Sn't gay meanz hap'y? If that'z it, th'n 'lright, 'm gay." Madara nodded assuringly to himself. "Gay sounds a lot like Gai... He's soooo ha'py 'll the time... Th'n he's gay too. Heh."

Anko stifled her laughter. "Alright, I've never thought about that before. Now thinking about it, he hugs his mini-me too much. Are they, like, together or something?"

A foggy memory made itself into Madara's mind and he cringed. "Iz'na show'd me a pict'r of Gay and Lee show'rin' t'geth'r. W'rst mem'ry, ev'r." he said sluggishly, shivering.

"... Wow." Anko stopped, eyes wide. "I will not dirty my mind with the images. Gai and Lee _Naked_. That's just..." she shook her head, "Let's not go there."

Madara stumbled along and the two made their way in to a dango shop. "Y'kno', I've nev'r pull'd off that op'ration app'ls. It'd be fun if app'ls fall from 'd sky like rain." he commented, trying to eat the dango through his mask, the stick stopped by the mask and preventing them to reach his mouth. To the confused mind of Madara, the dango stick was held by an invisible barrier. With a mumble of annoyance., he smashed his mask (wow...) and proceeded to eat his precious dango while ignoring the dropped jaws around him.

With the mask gone, Madara's previous short hair was gone. His entire long and spiky black hair flowed down his back. Funny thing was, Madara somehow kept tripping over them.

"Are you REALLY sure you don't want to come to my house?" Anko asked hopefully.

"No." Madara said flatly.

"Awww..." Anko pouted childishly. "Have you ever heard 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Wish that'd work on Kabuto or Orochi-teme..."

"'N app'l a day could keep ANYONE away if you throw it h'rd enough." Madara said blandly.

Anko noticeably brightened up. "Hey, I should try that sometimes!"

"'S long 's you don't try it on me, Kurenai, 'm 'kay wit' it."

Anko's eyebrow twitched again. "I told you, I'm ANKO, dammit!"

Madara closed his eyes. "'rn't you a lesbian?"

"NOT THIS AGAIN!"

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah, a bit of entertainment on Madara's behalf. The story was getting a bit too tense for much humor to get squeezed in. Though how This fits into the story, we'll never know. But this is an interlude after all; things happen.<strong>


	15. Interlude: Hidan the Psycho Ninja

**Oh my, I've accidentally deleted this chapter!**

**I swear, it's just like the Remembrance day interlude...**

**Anyways, I'm typing this by memory, so it may not be that accurate.**

* * *

><p><span>Hidan the psycho ninja: revised.<span> (Sung in the tune of Ruldolph the red-nosed reindeer)

You know Sasori, Kakuzu, Itachi, Kisame

Deidara and Konan and Zetsu and Pein

But do you recall...

The most violent ninja of all!

Hidan the psycho ninja

Has a very shiny hair (like a granny!)

And if you said that to him

He would just kill you right there (for his rituals!)

All of the Akatsuki

Used to laugh and call him names ("Hey there, priest boy!")

They never let poor Hidan

To do all of his psycho games (like grand slaughtering!)

Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Jashin came to say ("Muahaha!")

"I'll give you the time to strike, they'll be frightened by your might"

Then all the ninjas feared him

And women shouted "Marry me!"

Hidan the psycho ninja

Will go down the history! (like Naruto!)

* * *

><p><strong>I know it's slightly different, but at least I memorized most of it."<strong>


	16. Interlude: How to make a good fanfiction

**Lo and behold, people! To my New Years interlude! Now, for the cliched 'how to make a fanfiction' fic! kinda cheesy, but I tried my best.**

**PS, chapter 11 not finished yet... Still 1/2 complete. TT_TT**

**So, lets get this show on the road!**

* * *

><p>Interlude: How to make a good fanfiction<p>

* * *

><p>Khorale sat upon a desk, a laptop in front of her. Beside her, Hinote perched on the window sill as the others filed into the room.<p>

"Hello everyone." Khorale said, bowing in front of the camera. "My name is Khorale and I am here to give you guys tips on how to write a better fanfiction. I know this type of plot is overused, but hey, I just couldn't resist."

"Let's start with the title." Hinote said, shrugging. " Just choose something that fits the story. It doesn't HAVE to be so mysterious or cool, it could even be just a single word! If you do stuff like 'Can't think of a chapter', that's even worse than a cheesy title! People'd think you're lazy and wouldn't bother reading."

The others considered Hinote's words for a moment before agreeing.

"What if the person couldn't think of one? You said they can't put 'cant think of a title' for a title, but do you have any suggestions?" asked Izuna.

"Well... If it's a romance novel, you could included words in it like 'rose, heart, love... etc. Or an angst one, use darker words, like 'black, midnight, nightmares... etc"

The ninjas 'oooh'ed and 'ahhhh'ed.

Itachi stepped up. "For the summery," he said in his monotone voice, "Make it interesting. Pull the readers in like pulling somebody into a Tsukuyomi. The effects can be the same."

There was a few seconds of silence before Madara spoke up. "Uhhh... Itachi? That's not a good thing to compare to, considering what happens to the victims of Tsukuyomi."

"Good point." Itachi nodded absently. "You get my point. But do not use words like 'I am not good at summaries'. The readers won't care about your problems, they are here to read your stories. And if you make any sentences like 'please read this', it would only drive people away. It's reverse psychology, the more somebody demands you to do something, the less you wanted to, and vise versa." he stepped back and everyone clapped.

"What if you can't think of a summery?" Asuma asked from the back.

Itachi shrugged. "Sucks to be you, then." and they left it at that.

"Okay, now on to the story." Madara stepped up. "There aren't that many rules regarding it, as you can do whatever you want in a story, but those are just advises; you don't have to follow them if you don't want to. The first chapter has to be the best. It pulls the readers in, making them want more. Be sure to make prologues fresh and interesting. DON'T make it hard to read and be sure to use correct grammar.

Here's an example:" Madara somehow pulled out a chart.

Example one:(Taken from the first few sentences of the first chapter)

_madara groenes._

_he hrt & his baak waz soar._

_he glanses arounde._

_darkness._

_he open boas his Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes sea no catra signiturez arounde hem. felt the space around him & memoarys rapidely returning to him. His finger touchd steel bars, and he feel small joat of pein._

Madara glanced at the section. "Okaaaaay, maybe that was a tad bit exaggerated, but yeah, there are spelling mistakes, punctuation needed in places, and symbols should not be placed in stories like this. You use 'and', not '&'."

Example two:

_Madara head hurt, and his back was glanced .He opened both his Sharingan and Rin'negan eyes, but saw no chakra signatures around him. He felt the space around him, memories rapidly returning to him. His finger touched steel bars, and he felt a small jolt of pain._

"As you could tell, in this example the sentences are mashed together into one big sentence. And this is considered small comparing to the others HUGE block of writing that was hard to stay concentrated on."

Example 2.2:

Madara head hurt, and his back was glanced .He opened both his Sharingan and Rin'negan eyes, but saw no chakra signatures around him. He felt the space around him, memories rapidly returning to him. His finger touched steel bars, and he felt a small jolt of yes, he had traveled back in time by some freak accident while battling the Kyuubi kid. He had _died_ by a well-placed Rasengan. He recalled a vague memory of the brat's father kicking his ass the same way. Oh the irony. But he didn't particularly care about that right before it all went black, both of his doujutsu flared without his control, and with a swirl of a space-time jutsu -a different one than the one he used to travel - he woke up in a hotel._FLASHBACKMadara read the calendar over and over again. __Was__ this some kind of a trick? He remembered the Kyuubi brat was a famous prankster in Konoha before he made then shook his head. No. The brat didn't know about this mission, the one to capture the Sanbi. So could it be that he was actually back in time?_And if he was back in time, then the Akatsuki members __were__ alive! And that __meant__..._Madara groaned. He hated the Tobi façade__,__ and was quite pleased when he got the chance to reveal himself to the world in the future. Returning here __meant__ he had to act like a brain-damaged idiot __all the time. He was sure doing so would fry his IQ even further, and Madara isn't exactly the sanest man on hurried towards the bathroom. There was something he had to confirm._Madara locked the bathroom with as many chains as possible__ -just in case Deidara would barge in on him-__ and then took off his mask. He gasped when he saw the __Rin'negan__ eye. It __looked__ like __he'd__ traveled through time physically rather than mentally, though his mask was still orange and swirly__,__ instead of that awesome white Juubi-eye mask he had in the then pu__t__ h__is overly-bright mask on and undid the locks. Racing to Deidara's room, he switched __to__ his 'Tobi__'__ persona and darted inside."DEIDARA-__SENPAI__!" he screeched in an overly cheerful tone. "WAKE UP!"_"Shut up Tobi, un." groaned Deidara, rubbing his ears. "You'll scare away the Bijuu."Tobi just nodded and bounced away, doing a perfect impersonation of a hyperactive bouncy-ball._They approached the lake __where __the three-tails __was __rumored to be in__,__ and Deidara flew up onto a clay bird. "You capture him, Tobi. I haven't seen you in action before, un."__'And you won't for a very long time,' _Madara thought, but outwards he yelled "Ehhhh! This is a water creature! Isn't Kisame-san best for this job?"_"This B__ijuu__ has no host, so it's not very intelligent. And it's time we __saw__ your skills, Tobi, un__,__" __s__aid Deidara. But unfortunately, the three-tailed demon turtle awoke__,__ and __its__ blank stare fixed on Tobi. With a huge roar__,__ it opened its mouth, almost swallowing the masked man."Waaaaaah! __IT'S__ AFTER ME!" Tobi cried__,__ as he ran across the water and away from the enraged turtle. After dodging a few swipes and blasts of boiling hot water, Deidara decided that the leader would be pissed at him if Tobi died, so he molded a C2 fish and tossed it __into__ the water._The clay fish swam speedily towards Sanbi, and with a yell of "KATSU!," it was blasted through the air and somehow survived the explosion, to Deidara's surprise. The Sanbi however was knocked unconscious."Capturing mission complete!" Tobi cheered and leap onto the unconscious Bijuu's lugging the huge turtle to base, Tobi saw Sasori, who was alive for some 's mind was overrun with questions but as he glanced at Deidara, he saw no confusion so he decided to react later and find out the information then._"The mission was __successful__, un__,__" said Deidara.__ "T__hough Tobi was quite useless.""Oi, __Senpai__! I did distract the Sanbi for you!" Tobi cried._Sasori only grunted and walked away. "The sealing will begin three days later. Now return to your rooms."_'Rooms?'_ Madara thought, puzzled. _'what do you mean rooms?'_ but he wisely kept from questioning Sasori._Madara wandered through the hallway. He was lost. Why __was__ a secret lair here anyways? He knew -or he thought he did- that the Akatsuki __slept__ in hotels__,__ and only __met__ in holograms. This clearly __was__ not the case. He __needed__ to find Pein, who hopefully would have an answer._"Hi there!" a voice called out behind him. Madara whirled had short black hair curled to frame her face and warm green eyes. She wore a lazy expression and a blue baseball cap on her head. She also wore a black jacket and stretchy sky-blue pants."Tobi wonders who you are." said Madara in a high-pitched childish tone. The person giggled."Ah, no need to do that, Madara." she tensed. "Who are you?" He asked. The stranger was not at all concerned that the secret leader of the akatsuki was glaring at her. She was quite amused, actually."I'm Khorale. I want to join this little group of yours." she said simply._Madara's eyes narrowed. "What's in it for me?__"__h__e asked__._"Information. It's part of my contract. Here." she said, handing him a certificate._KHORALE WILL HELP THE AKATSUKI ON __THESE__ CONDITIONS:1. She must not hurt anyone in __any way,__ or aid anyone in battle.2 She will give out information when asked, no holding back__,__ t__hough no answering personal questions__.__3. __N__o relationships with anyone__.And beneath that __was__ Khorale's messy signature."So..." she said, "__a__sk away."_"Why is that puppet boy alive?" Madara demanded._"Oh, when you arrived here, there was a ripple in time. You know, the butterfly theory: A butterfly flaps __its,__ wings and __causes__ a __tornado__ on the other side of the __world__. But your case was... special. When you arrived, the ripples affected not only the future, but the past as well. I really have no ide__a __h__ow this __worked,__" she said, shrugging._"And we live in a lair because...?"_"That," she giggled, "was my fault__,__ actually. You see, I am the author of this whole story__,__ so I had to do random things to spice up the plot. The fact that you all live together is not really important to the plot, but it will provide some comic relief__ when things __get__ REALLY interesting."Madara was curious. "__How so__?"_"I have only a vague idea on it. Something was blocking my view to the future. Though I knew that the fourth shinobi war would be earlier than expected, and for some reason you're not the one declaring it. The image of it was blurry, but still there."Madara nodded. "And what of this timeline?"_"Glad you asked. There were only minor differences with the past, unlike the future. For one, Gaara wasn't captured, so Sasori didn't die. And since Deidara failed, Pein assigned him to you as a punishment. Itachi isn't __going __blind__,__ and__ doesn't have__ the disease. It was some kind of forbidden jutsu Sasori found while breaking into the Sand for that Ichibi mission. Sasuke didn't murder Orochimaru, choosing to flee the base in secret the day before Orochimaru __tried to take __his body. And that's all."_Madara nodded. "So__,__ now I have to hold up my end of the bargain. Welcome to the Akatsuki, Khorale-chan." __H__e walked away. "I'm taking you to Pein to officially admit you in and explain my little 'adventure__.'"He walked on for a few moments, then stopped. "Damn it! I forgot I was lost!" he exclaimed._Khorale laughed. "And you forgot that I know everything. Come on!" __S__he dragged the embarrassed Uchiha into Pein's office._"Come in." said Pein, Konan by his side. Pein raised an eyebrow at Khorale, but chose to stay silent, not sure whether to address him as Tobi or Madara._"It's me__,__" Madara said simply. Pein nodded. "I have come to you to admit the tenth member __of__ the Akatsuki. She __will__ get Orochimaru's ring.""Madara__,__i__s there a reason that you have __admitted__ her into the Akatsuki? She does not seem strong.""I'm sure she __will__ explain to you. I'm leaving." Madara disappeared in a swirl.__

"See what I mean?" asked Madara, irritated. "Try to read this whole thing without getting lost or having a headache." he promptly walked off the stage thingy.

Orochimaru came up to the front. "I'll continue." he offered. "Use a cliffhanger for some chapters, when you've believe that people are starting to lose interest in it, that would spice things up and make them interested again, not to mention eager to see what happens next. Don't do it EVERY chapter, though, or people lose their interest."

Example three:

_With sharp eyes, Sasuke carefully watched his surroundings. This was the mysterious organization that had the Akatsuki (where Itachi was), Oto (where Orochimaru was), and Konoha (where the Dobe was) in an uproar. If he was strong enough to defeat whoever this was, he would have enough power to defeat his brother! Sasuke nodded to himself, and activated the Sharingan._

_Out stepped a boy, about sixteen or so. He spoke in a monotonous voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha Sasuke. Since we are the only ones here, I suppose it is alright to tell you my name. I am Utakata, the former jinchuuriki of the Rokubi."_

"You see?" asked Orochimaru, "That would make people wonder what happens next, whether Sasuke-kun will make it or not." he stole a glance towards said boy, who inched towards the door.

Then Utakata came out. "For the epilogue," he said emotionlessly, "You will want to either wrap everything up and give a satisfactory ending, -not that every author can make to the end- , or give a hint that it has not ended and then do an epilogue. Be sure to make that just as interesting as the first story, though. Or one may get bored."

"And lastly," Khorale stepped near the camera, "I hate demands for reviews. Remember the reverse psychology thingy? I usually think 'forget about it' whenever somebody posted a 'please review!' sign on their story. And that is all." She said sweetly, "Have a good day."

They turned the camera off and the screen went black.


	17. A Piece of Paper Isn't Going to Help

**Hey people! It's certainly been a while. I've lost the notebook that contained all my notes for the story (Every single note's in there, I'm not kidding.)! Fortunately, I remember most of them, EXCEPT for the final battle.**

**...Oh dear, have to go back to the drawing board again...**

**Oh well, I've gained some new ideas and more notes! Currently they're on paper until I could find my notebook again.**

**PS, Happy New Years!**

**PPS, Tomorrow's Haku's birthday! Gotta do interlude... fast!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 11: A Piece of Paper Isn't Going to Help... Much✿<p>

_When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth._

* * *

><p><em>"We all did." Gaara said with a shrug.<em>

_All of a sudden, a door opened and there stood Madara, looking tired and stressed._

_"I need to sleep."_

* * *

><p>"Say..." Itachi said to Kisame. "'Hoshi' means 'star', and 'gaki' means 'brat.' So your name means 'Star Brat Demon Shark'. Please excuse me, but what the HELL?"<p>

Kisame blushed shamefully. "Says the person who's name means 'Weasel.'"

"My name means 'Scorpion'." Sasori piped up.

"My name, Nagato, means 'Long-Lasting Gate'." said Pein.

"Orochimaru's name means 'Great Snake'. Fitting, isn't it?" Sasori said, smirking.

"Very."

"The first Kanji in Hidan's name means 'Rook'. You know, from Shogi? And the first Kanji in Kakuzu's name is 'Bishop'."

"Great. Now I'm a piece of wood." Hidan grumbled.

"Tobi means 'Kite!', un." said Deidara.

"Uchiha Madara means 'Fan Spots'." said Pein.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Kisame.

"Perhaps it mean 'Spotted Fan?' if you reverse the order of the name to Madara Uchiha..." he trailed off.

"Maybe." Khorale shrugged.

* * *

><p>"NO!" Madara cried as he struggled for a moment, "I WONT DO THIS! YOU CANT MAKE ME!"<p>

"Can't we?" Sasuke said with a smirk as the others continued to shove Madara into the overflowing toilet.

"You flood the bathroom, you get to fix it." Danzo said crossly. "We're not leaving until you retrieve your mask."

The Uchiha patted around for a moment, trying to feel something other than water or cloth. Finally, his fingers brushed against the hard plastic of his orange swirly mask.

"It's stuck!" he said angrily.

The others groaned.

"_Now_ what are we supposed to do?" the Raikage asked. He didn't like the idea of not using a toilet anymore.

_"Or course, you could always ask Izuna to replace the toilet with a new and functional one."_Hashirama said from Madara's mind, though only the Uchiha himself could hear him.

'No!' Madara thought frantically. 'My mask! It'll be gone forever and I don't have anything other than my hand to cover my Rin'negan!'

_'You could always make a new one, say, find a pumpkin and carve away.'_

**"I'd rather kill you and be done with this headache."**Juubi snarled.

Madara gave up trying to wrestle the stuck mask from the toilet and stared at it dejectedly. "IU." he said finally, "Can you change the toilet with a new one?"

Almost immediately, the water stopped spewing out and disappeared altogether. The orange mask disappeared, and the bathroom was good as new again.

"You did it!" said the Tsuchikage.

"I'm rather surprised at how young you are." the Mizukage commented as she looked at Madara's face.

But amidst the claps on the back and compliments (on his age), Madara did not feel happy.

He felt like a chunk of him was torn away and an empty hole left in his soul. He felt blandness, as though he could not bring himself to cry.

Not in front of them.

Madara felt pathetic.

"Goodbye, Tobi." he said solemnly.

* * *

><p>Impatient was the emotion to describe Minato at the moment.<p>

"I can't get the handseals right!" he snapped as he paced around the room.

Izuna looked on bemusedly.

"How hard could it be?" he asked incredulously. "It took me less than an hour to master it."

"Uchihas are bloody freakin' prodigies." Minato grumbled.

"Let's see... You had to channel your chakra just right - to 36.6% -, and a dozen or so made-up handseals, and then you had to close your eyes and visualize yourself in your own little your world called a mindscape."

"Well first," Minato said crossly, "I have too much chakra to be THAT exact. Second, how the hell did you even made up those seals? And for it to work, as well!"

"I was a prodigy." Izuna said smugly. "And it was an accident when Madara and I played ninja when we were kids. It took a week to reverse the body-switch. Now, try the jutsu one more time."

Minato tried, he really did, but after the handseals, an explosion occurred right in his face.

"Less chakra!" said Izuna. "You did 36.7%. It has to be EXACT."

"I didn't see you doing any better." Minato said, irritated.

"Fine." Izuna said with a sigh. "I'll go into my mind, somehow get into your mind, and then lead you to my brother's mind!"

"You lost me after your mind." Minato confessed.

"Just do it!"

* * *

><p>Tobi was gone.<p>

The last evidence of him ever existing was gone now.

'How could I be so stupid?' Madara asked himself silently. 'Just one little slip while washing my face, and now it's gone.'

**"We know already, so stop your ranting!"** Ten-tails sneered.

"Madara, are you okay?" Tsunade asked as she noticed the not-so-masked Uchiha just standing there.

A red eye met with brown ones.

A pause.

"...It's nothing." the man grumbled.

Madara suddenly stiffened as he felt an unfamiliar presence inside his mind. But relaxed slightly as he heard Juubi's angry roars. If Juubi hates the person, then he or she couldn't be that bad, could they?

He sat down in a meditative pose, and entered his subconscious.

Minato was just saying goodbye (more like 'good riddance' from his tone) to Izuna when he felt an approaching chakra signature.

"Why are YOU here?" he asked Hashirama, startled.

"Because I'm awesome."

...

"Yeah right."

Madara could only stare incredulously at the two of them. "Yondaime? What are you doing here?"

"Because I'm also awesome."

...

...

"Yeaaaaaah, I'll believe you when the moon comes crashing down."

CRASH!

The three legendary ninjas turned, wide-eyed, half expecting to actually find a moon behind them.

To Madara and Hashirama's relief, it was only a gigantic box of girl-guide cookies flattening Juubi.

**"ENOUGH!"** the shape-shifter roared and blasted the cookies to dust.

"Talk about temper." Madara tutted.

"I'll have to seal him up." Minato said as he looked at the withered roots, blackened with the amount of acidic chakra eating into it.

"I'm fine with it." Madara said with a shrug. "He bites, though."

Juubi suddenly shifted into the form of Uzumaki Kushina.

**"Minato honey."**'She' purred.**"Die!"**

Madara could only shake his head in disbelief as the Yondaime Hokage cowered in front of his 'wife'. "Yondaime! It's not real! That's just Ten-tails talking!"

Minato flinched as his 'wife' advanced upon him, a frying pan in hand.**"How dare you seal the nine-tails in our son?"** 'Kushina' asked menacingly.

"It's not real!" Madara called again. But after receiving no response from the Yellow Flash, Madara went up to both of them and tore the seal from Minato's frozen arms. "If you're not going to seal him, then I'm doing it!"

Juubi smirked and shifted into another form.

Izuna's.

**"**_**Dear**_** brother."**the fake Izuna laughed.**"You've certainly took your time. You've left me, all those years ago, to die in my own house. All blind and alone. How**_** could **_**you leave me there? I thought we were kin!"**

Madara took a step back. Juubi morphed again, this time-

**"Ah yes."**the fake Tobi grinned beneath his mask.**"I was just the hyper little idiot. I did everything you designed me to do, and all you did was consider me a brain-dead moron. Did you know how many nights I've spent in your head, wishing 'Madara-senpai' would visit me, at least once?"**

Madara swallowed. "You have no right to soil his memory like that. You-"

**"Fire and ice, that's what we are."**Juubi morphed back into his base form - Uchiha Madara.**"No matter how you tried, ice just couldn't beat fire."**

"What if the ice melts into water and extinguishes the fire?" a voice asked from behind all of them.

They whipped around and to their surprise, they found Izuna standing there.

"Namikaze was taking too long, so I thought I'd come and check." he said blandly.

Madara had never been happier to see somebody in his life.

* * *

><p>Konan fiddled away with another piece of origami.<p>

Really, there wasn't much to do around there. No missions, no entertainment. Even Hidan and Kakuzu bickering around got tiring after a while.

Ahem.

Konan looked around suspiciously. "And you are...?" she asked

It's the author speaking!

She blinked. "Ooookay?"

I need your help to get the plot moving. It's been several chapters and all, so we're finally done with the filler arc! Now, the plot gets going again but it's really hard... Just imagine trying to wake up after a long sleep. You can't just get up immediately, the sleepiness lingers.

"So what do you need me for?"

Simply put, I need acid notes. Just make them look like regular pieces of paper and slip them in IU's pile. The next time Madara and co. receives a note, they'll get the equipment to break out!

"And how can I sneak them in when I don't even know where IU is?" Konan asked with a raised eyebrow.

I grinned, Easy! Just give them to me and I'll make sure this works!

Konan sighed. "Alright, here you go." she searched in her pockets, then held out a package of paper with symbols on them.

It disappeared into thin air.

Package received!

* * *

><p>"Now this is how it should be done." Izuna snapped as he slapped the piece of paper on the withering vines that held Juubi in place. Immediately, steel bands shot out and reinforced the barrier. "There." he said, irritated that the three legendary ninjas couldn't do something as easy as that.<p>

Minato sighed. "Let's go." He and Izuna walked away into the darkness,

Hashirama and Madara just stared at their retreating forms.

"He made it look so easy!" Hashirama cried.

"It probably _was_ easy for him." Madara deadpanned. Izuna was younger than him but still could keep up with his brother, that spoke his potential in volumes.

* * *

><p>Shaking his head slightly, Madara found that not a second had passed in the real world.<p>

A note fluttered down from the ceiling.

Sympathies for your loss. Here's a new mask. Just ask for paint. I can't give you any carving tools, as it may be used for dishonest purposes.

And a blank mask with a single eye-hole popped into existence.

"Dishonest purposes. Right." Madara snorted as he held the mask in his palms, running his hand past the smooth surface.

And suddenly the card changed to a light purple color, with Konan's scribbles on it.

Look, I can't really write much on here without this message being discovered. Here's a bundle of acid notes. Use it well.

Madara smirked.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was sitting on the Hokage desk, bored out of his mind.<p>

Tsunade wasn't there, so he couldn't do the paperwork.

The villages were all allied, so there weren't many missions. Most of the ones still coming in were assassination missions.

He sighed.

Where had Sakura hidden his precious Icha Icha?

* * *

><p>It was a relatively simple genjutsu, a minor henge to make a piece of paper look blank.<p>

And yet it was draining all his power.

'Look what I have!" he practically sang as he put on his newly painted mask, while holding the apparently blank piece of paper.

The others looked at him weirdly.

Madara's new mask was not exactly like Tobi's, as the Tobi mask was bumpy, and there was no carving tool for Madara this time. So instead, the mask has three hollow blood red tomoes, with Madara's signature Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan so to make it look more badass. Rings laced around the edge to make it look like a Rin'negan eyeball. Overall, the mask was white.

Simply put - this looks a lot like Madara's Juubi-eyed mask he had later in the other time line.

How fitting, considering the circumstances.

"I've got a piece of pa-per! I've got a piece of paaaaa-peeeer~!" he continued, sounding rather like cartoon-Pein in the "Pein's Jar of Dirt" video (see earlier chapters for reference)

"Have you gone mad?" Orochimaru asked as he eyed Madara warily.

"You wish." Madara retorted, stuffing the paper inside his pocket and dropped the illusion on it. "I'll tell you what happened later."

Freedom was so close, he could almost taste it.

* * *

><p>Khorale and Hinote suddenly appeared in a blank room.<p>

"What the hell happened?" Khorale asked, glancing around.

Hinote shrugged. "The author must have brought us here."

They waited.

"Well? Say something!" Khorale snarled at the ceiling.

There was no answer.

"No doors. No windows. Not even a (BEEP)ing air vent!" Khorale raged.

"Thank you for pointing that out, captain obvious." Hinote deadpanned.

"Shut it." Khorale snapped.

"Make me." Hinote retorted.

"This is getting nowhere." Khorale groaned in frustration. Why had the author brought them here? Hadn't she interfered enough?

Hi!

Khorale narrowed her eyes. "You're taking you're time."

And somebody has a temper! Now the meeting starts!

They nodded.

You have both encountered those reality portals that have been messing things up recently, you know we have to stabilize the balance in this world. That calls for you, Hinote.

"What do we have to do? Charge into them to make them disappear?" Hinote asked sarcastically.

I shook my head.

No, that's not it. The only reason Tobi's way worked was because it was completely unexpected, and he wasn't really there in the first place. If any of you tried it, you may get hurt, permanently.

"I'm just a shadow clone." Khorale said smugly. "I'll pop back."

Still, it wouldn't affect the portals as the method has already been used. We need to fix things by tipping the scales back to the shinobi side.

"What do you suggest?" asked Hinote, crossing her arms.

Hinote, you keep Izuna busy for now. Get his attention off the occupants of the Cage, so they can escape.

"How?"

Hehehe... S-E-C-R-E-T!

"I hate you."

Many do.

* * *

><p>The light flickered.<p>

"What the-" Izuna started.

Light sources stopped working, and the room was dark as night.

Actually, it WAS night.

But that's beside the point.

"How is it possible to have a blackout here?" Minato asked, puzzled. He hadn't bothered to leave as there wasn't anything to do.

Izuna shrugged. "A rat could have bitten through a wire, a storm could have broken something, or somebody could have tampered with the power source."

"First of all, there are no living things within a miles radius, even a blade of grass have a miniature source of chakra. Second, there is no storm outside."

"So that leaves..."

The two of them dashed for the door.

* * *

><p>Phrase one complete! Now, move out!<p>

Madara grinned and fingered the piece of paper in his hand. He quickly stuck the acid note to the central seal on the outside (Their cage looks slightly like the one for Kyuubi, except smaller and more comfortable. The seal's in the same place as the Kyuubi one, too.) and channeled a bit of chakra into it before withdrawing his finger.

He watched in satisfaction as the huge seal melted.

"FREE!" he roared as charged comically into the doors, slamming it open and dashed out, stumbling slightly due to the darkness of his surroundings.

The others watched with their jaws dropped on the ground.

"...What just happened?" Sasuke asked.

"Well don't just stand there, the door's open!" Gaara snapped.

The others seemed to snap out of a trance as they all dashed out.

A sudden blast of light took them completely out of surprise.

"AHHHHH! MY EYES!" That was Danzo, Madara, and Sasuke. The three of them had the sharingan, and it was very sensitive to light.

"Shhh!" Tsunade said as she forced them on the ground. "We're in enemy territory; that means no noise."

"Where are we?" asked Sasuke, still holding his eyes in pain.

They glanced around.

"...A random forest, it seems." said the Mizukage.

"Just great. Where's a hiker when you need them?" Orochimaru groaned and started walking.

"Wait! Orochimaru! We could be walking in the wrong direction!"

"Just reverse-summon yourself to the summoning realm!" Orochimaru snapped back.

"Some of us don't have Summoning Contracts, and if we can't go to Konoha through there - it would only bring us back here when we re-re-summon ourselves back to this dimension." said Gaara.

"Why do you assume we're going to _Konoha_?_ I'm _going back to _my_ village!" The Tsuchikage exclaimed, showing his dislike for Konoha.

"Do as you want, but for now we're staying together until we find our allies." said Tsunade as they all got up and headed in a random direction, following a dirt path leading up a mountain. "It's going to be cold at the top."

Madara nodded and used Amaterasu, then Mokuton and made sticks into eight torches.

The others sweatdropped.

"Well that was a good way of using jutsus, I guess..." said Orochimaru.

"There will be a good view of everything around us when we get to the top." Tsunade went on, "We have to be fast. A storm is approaching."

Madara stopped suddenly, which was noticed by the others.

A foreboding feeling crept up upon him.

What was it?

His gaze landed on upon a little white flower, no bigger than a daisy. It's creamy petals streaked with violet from the tip, the bud looking like it was made of pure honey.

Madara pocketed it, he just _knew _it would be important in the future.

He body-flickered behind the group, for now nobody would know of this.

* * *

><p>The rookies were gathered in a single place, drawn by the sound of a scream.<p>

They arrived upon the scene of terrified civilians cowering in fear from three large reality portals.

The razor-edged portals smashed into houses, into the trees, and into animals as they sought out nearby chakra signatures.

Which means that they were heading for the Hokage tower, where the strongest chakra signature was residing.

Ino seemed to realize this as she called the others over. "It's heading for Kakashi!"

Sakura paled as everyone struggled to keep up and away from the portal that was catching up to them.

"Khorale's in there too!"

"She's a shadow clone."

"Oh." there was a sigh of relief.

They pounded upon the door, desperate to get in and warn Kakashi when-

POP

All three portals had disappeared, leaving the stunned genins behind.

"If this was some kind of joke of Naruto's, I'm going to kill him." Sakura snarled.

The door of the Hokage tower opened suddenly as Khorale stepped out.

"It worked!" she beamed. "Come in, all of you. I'll explain this in Kakashi's office."

* * *

><p>Kakashi was interrupted from his musings by the sound of the door opening.<p>

"Yo." he said to the gathered group. "What's up?"

"Sensei! There was three weird things that had been destroying houses! It was heading towards you and suddenly disappeared!" Sakura gasped in one breath.

"Whaaa?"

"Those are reality portals." said Khorale. "They're caused by the imbalance in the world. Only through doing something completely unexpected or fixing what's wrong makes them disappear."

"So what DID you do?"

"Earlier today, the author called a meeting. The other side was winning way too severely, and that stupid choice Hinote made Madara make was the straw that broke the camel's back. Figuratively speaking."

"How did you fix it then?" asked Kiba.

Khorale scowled. "Hinote. She righted the odds back to our favor by distracting IU long enough for the leaders to escape."

"I thought she was on their side?" asked Kakashi.

"Holy (BEEP)!" Naruto, having arrived back from Ame, just came through the door. He ignored the other's reprimands for language and continued on. "Baa-chan's back!"

"Hold on Naruto." said Khorale. "They're back, but we don't know where they are for the moment. It could take them a long time to get here, especially if they're lost."

Kakashi stood up. "Well, I've got to call a meeting. It'll be quick since the Akatsuki is letting us use their hologram machine." he pointed at the ring lying on the desk. "This one used to be Itachi's'."

Naruto stifled his laughter. Oh, Sasuke's face when he finds Itachi's ring on Kakashi's desk…

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Next Chapter: A disappearing act, finally encountering people, and... cross-dressing?<strong>**

* * *

><p><strong>Itonami members:<strong>

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**Tauyua– Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious****People****Yet to be****Revealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler:<strong>

**Oh come on! I've just finished this chapter yesterday! I didn't have time to type something else! So again, ten facts.**

1. Utakata's planning something big.

2. Juubi will get out later on. *shudder*

3. There will be references to other fandoms, for humor's sake.

4. For those who STILL haven't figured out who Meimu is, she's connected somehow to Orochimaru.

5. Haku will be resurrected.

6. There MIGHT be a battle royale at the end... Between Juubi, Madara, and somebody else.

7. The flower Madara had picked up will save his life some day.

8. There shall be no romantic parts in this story. I'm not good at writing those, so I'm not going to bother.

9. A piece of history is going to repeat... Not the one you are all expecting.

10. In the epilogue, Hinote and Khorale are going to leave, so they would only appear in the sequel if readers demand! Otherwise, they had too small a role to bother writing about.


	18. Interlude: Haku's birthday

**Hello! It's Haku's birthday today! So, some snow and the continuation of Madara's flu.**

* * *

><p>"D'm it!" Pein growled, blowing his nose. "Stup'd M'dara, c'ming back and inf'cting all of us with his co'd," he blew his nose again.<p>

The weather outside was reacting to Pein's health, and right now, it's snowing.

The Akatsuki were in bed (not like that, you pervs!), all sipping hot chocolate or chicken soup.

"I wanted to make a snow angel," Konan sighed wistfully as she gazed at the snow outside.

"Blood looks great on white," Hidan commented as he polished his scythe.

"The money we'd earn if we took a picture of the first snowfall in Ame history," Kakuzu took a sip of hot chocolate.

"My joints are frozen," said Sasori as he shivered and snuggled closer in the thick blankets.

"Snow is a beautiful work of art, un!" Deidara said as he fiddled with a clay snowflake. "It melts, so it's fleeting!"

"Why is Sasuke and his group here, along with Orochimaru?" Itachi said in monotone as he held down his brother.

"I'll k'll you 'tachi!" Sasuke's voice was muffled as his face was pressed down on the bed.

"Don't treat Sasuke-kun like that!" screeched Karin.

"We could snuggle with each other for body heat." Orochimaru said with a creepy grin.

Itachi kicked him.

"Orochimaru, Juugo, Karin, Sasuk, and Suigetsu are here because they have/will join Akatsuki before/in the future. Even if it's briefly." explaind Madara, who looked much better than last time. (Read Madara's birthday interlude for details)

"Tobi wants to make a snowman!" Tobi exclaimed, popping from nowhere.

"The hell? Why are there two of us?" Madara looked confused.

"Madara-san must remember that this is an interlude! No rules apply!" Tobi said cheerfully.

"Th's bed is g'tting full." said Pein. "All of 'u, OUT!"

And so ended the first snowfall in Ame history.


	19. Interlude: Chinese New Year

**Yo! It's Khorale here! I must say that I'm sorry for not updating, but frankly... There hasn't been enough ideas running through my mind, and I had to wait for inspiration to hit me.**

**Anyways, welcome to the Chinese New Years Interlude!**

**So... this time it's a crossover (don't worry, it's very small and you don't have to read the manga to understand it) between...**

**...**

**Well, you'll see!**

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he ran down the street. "Wait for us!"<p>

The rest of team seven stood behind him, panting heavily.

"Sensei, we've found something strange!" Sakura said, bringing out a round shiny object with four stars in it.

"THAT'S what you called me here for?" Sasuke snapped, staring at the orange sphere. "Humph. I've got six of them back in my clan compound!"

"Really?" Naruto gushed excitedly, "Can you tell us what it is? Can ya? Can ya?"

"Shut up." Sasuke said flatly. "Yes, I know what it is. This is a dragon ball. You have to gather seven of them, say a certain sentence, and a magical dragon will come and grant your wish."

All was silent around team 7.

"Wow... That was... the longest sentence he ever said..." Sakura trailed off. "Are you sure he's not high on something?"

"Very funny." Sasuke said crossly. "It seems that you found the last ball, so let's go ask for a wish so I can have my clan back."

"Don't you want to kill Itachi?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke nodded. "I want to use my own power to beat him, not the power of some magical balls."

"Dragon balls..." Sakura frowned. "How did you even know how it works in the first place?"

Sasuke shrugged, "There was this green guy that gave them to me. Said that he was Kami and made the dragonballs."

"Why did he give them to YOU?" Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"I..." Sasuke actually looked embarrassed for a moment, "Threatened him."

"With what?" Kakashi started to look curious as he glanced away from his book.

"." Sasuke said quickly.

"Say that again?" Naruto looked gleeful. If Sasuke did what he thought he did...

"Purple blood, everywhere, from that gigantic nosebleed." Sasuke frowned, looking down at his favorite shirt.

"Oh my god, he didn't die, did he?" Sakura looked horrified that her 'Sasuke-kun' would use such a vulgar technique.

"He swallowed a grayish bean and healed." Sasuke looked weirded out. "It was very strange."

"Oi, teme." said Naruto. "Are you sure you didn't dream the whole thing? Or hit your head too hard when Itachi hit you in the hotel?"

"I always thought he was a bit mentally unstable." Sakura said thoughtfully, nodding her head slowly.

"I didn't imagine it all!" Sasuke roared. "I really met a green alien who claimed to be god and gave me six balls after he saw my naked female form and healed after eating a (BEEP)ing BEAN!"

A stunned silence.

"Sasuke, my precious student." Kakashi said slowly, "Beans don't reproduce that way, and I'm so sorry for working you too hard until you went insane from the pressure, Come on, let's go to a hospital. There will be some REALLY nice nurses and some crayons for you to draw with."

"No no no no NO! You've got to believe me!" Sasuke screamed hysterically, "A dragon WILL come and grant you a wish once you collected seven magical items and say a special phrase!"

Naruto looked at his rival sadly. "Poor Sasuke, the bite Orochimaru gave him must have drove him crazy."

"What's this, then?" Sasuke held up the four-star dragon ball for all to see.

"You could have been making a story up about it." Kakashi said, shrugging. "Magic doesn't exist. Dragons don't exist. Aliens don't exist. And you are clearing overstressed in your training. Why don't we take this to the Sarutobi-sama's office?"

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaaand CUT!<strong>

**It was a decent interlude, I guess. If you hadn't read DB or DBZ _or_ DBGT, you could still understand this for the most part.**

**Since it's the year of the dragon, I must find something that features dragons. I tried to make this less confusing, so I didn't use names from the other fandom.**

**The timeline is between the Forest of Death, and the final exam. Just in case you're wondering!**

**I tried to make Sasuke's tale sound totally unconvincing (Green alien who calls himself Kami? Seriously!) and it was easy, especially if you don't elaborate more.**

**Any questions you have or comments, go straight to me!**


	20. Interlude: Minato's birthday

**YIKES!**

**It's the afternoon right now and I thought I'd check the birthday list.**

**I _just_ found out that today's Minato's birthday!**

**Which means that I had to do an interlude on the spot.**

**Fast!**

* * *

><p>Haiku: (first line five syllables, second line seven syllables)<p>

_Battle Kyuubi_

_On a cold October day_

_A child with burden._

* * *

><p><em>Faster than others<em>

_He earned the name of Hokage_

_May he rest in peace_

* * *

><p><em>Blond hair like the sun<em>

_Had a wife and a child_

_Life was so simple_

* * *

><p><em>Konoha's fighter<em>

_People feared the Yellow Flash_

_But he is gentle.  
><em>


	21. Interlude: Izuna's birthday

**If you check Naruto wiki, you'd find that today's Izuna's birthday!**

**Hi people, sorry for the delay (and lack of chapter). I'm about 3/4 finished, so don't worry about me abandoning!**

**School is so mind-numbing, plus I've been reading one series to the next. I'm sorry for not doing much work on here!**

* * *

><p>Izuna and Madara were walking together in a park.<p>

Behind him, the Akatsuki and the Itonami were sitting on the grass with picnic baskets. Since it was Izuna's birthday, they struck a temporary truce that would remain unbroken until the next chapter comes.

Tobi was fiddling around with a kite, and Juubi perched upon a tree in the shape of a wolf, snoring contently.

Hidan was sacrificing random squirrels and other woodland animals while Kakuzu was bickering with Sasori.

Kisame was swimming in a lake as Itachi just meditated on a picnic blanket.

Hashirama was off in a quest to save the world.

...

...

Ooookay, I'm just kidding!

Back on topic; Izuna and Madara were walking. Got it?

Good.

"I hope the peace would last." Madara commented.

Izuna shook his head. "Nah, after this, we'll have to track you all down and stuff. But for now, let's enjoy the scenery."

"And the sandwiches."

"The sandwiches, too."

"..."

"..."

"I just farted."

More silence.

"Was that a bit too random?"

"Yeah, it was." Madara shrugged. "I found a white flower on top of a mountain back..." he through for a moment. "... there." he concluded, not remembering the location.

It was if the mountain was never really there, but that was impossible. Right?

"Big deal, flowers are everywhere."

"I dunno, this particular one just seems... odd."

"It looks a bit familiar..." Izuna was about to say more, but was cut off as Utakata entered the scene.

"Deidara tried to blow Tobi up, again." the emotionless jinchuuriki sighed. "Tobi was upset after his kite was smashed up."

Madara just shook his head and dragged Deidara away.

The conversation was over... for now.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how didja like? Some clues for the plot, and Madara trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the white flower!<strong>


	22. Interlude: Valentines

**Hello people! It's Valentines day!  
><strong>

**This was originally intended to be an interlude for April Fools day, but then I decided otherwise.  
><strong>

**Now this interlude we have a behind-the-scenes part, of what REALLY happened in several parts.**

**Enjoy!**

**PS: Chapter 12 is finished! My beta is editing it right now so it'll be out soon!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Omake file #1: What did Tobi do in Madara's mind to pass the time?<p>

Tobi sat down glumly across the table in front of a huge television.

"Tobi is loooooonley." he whined, hugging a life-sized teddy bear. "Madara-san never comes doooooown here!" he patted Teddy gently.

"Well, Tobi is a good boy!" he brightened up. "Tobi's sure there will be something for Tobi to do!" he bounced off a chair excitedly. "Tobi wanna visit a special someone!"

And so clueless little Tobi did.

While Madara knew who Juubi was and why he should NEVER EVER **_EVER_** let the sadistic shapeshifter out.

Tobi didn't.

The only thing Tobi knew about Juubi, was that Juubi was the original Madara while the other one's just a split personality.

To naive Tobi, a Madara is a Madara, no matter how scary the original one can get.

And so he set off on this mission to find 'Madara-san.'

"Yaaaaay! Madara-san! Tobi has found you at last!" Tobi chirped brightly as he entered a rather creepy-looking forest.

In the center, was a mass of black energy that was bound by a translucent barrier, keeping it in it's place.

The black chakra shifted as it heard an annoying little voice buzzing near him. He longed to swat it, but the barrier kept it from moving.

"Madara-san doesn't look well." Tobi commented as he peered through the barrier. "But don't worry! Tobi will give you a candy and it will be all better!" and so an orange lollipop was thrown through the barrier.

What Tobi didn't know was that the sugar in the lollipop caused a slight decay in the barrier (like a rotten tooth). Which led to Juubi breaking out years after.

Poor naive Tobi.

* * *

><p>Omake file #2: Deidara's suspicion<p>

Crouched like a cat, Deidara surveyed the form of his partner with narrowed eyes.

Tobi.

The man was such a mystery. He was an open book of bursting energy, yet they had learned nothing about him.

He was the most idiotic man known to mankind, but there wasn't a trace of him in any village records.

Except Konoha.

The village was recorded to be attacked by the nine-tailed demon fox, a few years ago.

In the SSS-class secret files stored away in the deepest part of the village, was an eye-witness account of seeing it being summoned by a man _wearing an orange mask._

Every description, every inch of it, fitted Tobi to the last spike of black hair.

The only thing that does not fit was the personality.

The man who had released Kyuubi was described to be calm, cold, and calculating.

A cold-blooded murderer.

Tobi was a care-free child-like man who enjoys living life to the fullest. The type to help a kitten with a broken paw. The type that was too trusting and naive to be a ninja.

It doesn't fit.

But Deidara enjoys challenges, and solving this one would be the most interesting one yet.

* * *

><p>Omake file #3: How Izuna gathered the Itonami.<p>

It all started with the Ketsueki (_Blood leaf_) Massacre.

He was not sure whether if it was a good thing or not; a sword to the back.

Hyuugas knew the weakest spots of a blind man. They were too confident with their own abilities, and did not check the pulse correctly.

If they have done it correctly, Izuna would have been finished off like in the original timeline.

The only thing that kept it from happening was the final time ripple. The only one to made it that far in the stream of time.

It was faint, but one misplace finger changed history forever.

Izuna played death right until the funeral, performing a blind kawarmi with a nearby log.

Nobody noticed.

With the entire population distracted with the funeral, Izuna plotted to get the ultimate eyes another way, for an eye to never lose it's light no matter how much you harm it.

An eye to counter Madara's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

Soon after that, Izuna began to search for revenge against Konoha for 'killing his brother'.

He came across them again, the Hyuugas who had supposedly killed him.

He caught them by surprise and killed them. It was all too easy.

Izuna fitted the most skilled Hyuuga's eyes into his own sockets, storing the rest of the eyeballs away just in case he needed them,

As he traveled, Izuna's anger towards Konoha decreases a little bit at a time. And finally, as he slipped into Kirigakure, he did not know what to feel anymore.

And then there was Utakata.

The man was nearly dead as Izuna approached him. It was a miracle that he survived through a bijuu extraction. (The second in history to accomplish such, after Uzumaki Kushina).

Utakata had shown such hatred against the Akatsuki that it even surprised Izuna.

No, it's better if he kept watch over Utakata for now and act if the former host was becoming a threat.

They traveled together to search for members to form a powerful organization.

At first, Izuna decided against the idea of approaching Konoha, but Utakata mentioned that it was attacked by a bijuu a few days ago.

When they arrived, there wasn't much of a village left. Smoke drifted everywhere and the remaining trees looked more like toothpick.

Not much to look at, except for the rumors that has been flying around.

It looks like Madara was alive after all...

The two continued on, gathering members here and there. They found Karura pretending to be buried alive by using her sand, escaping the execution issued by the Kazkage for 'mothering a demon'. They were joined by Zabuza, who wanted some excitement in his life after Haku died. Then there was the matter of Minato.

It was hard to say who found who.

Minato was sitting at a bar, trying his hardest to forget. He had not anticipated being trapped inside Naruto's subconscious along with the Kyuubi, watching Naruto's life being played out on the flat-screen tv.

He and Izuna shared a drink together, both not realizing who the other was. It was only the next morning when Izuna's identity was revealed.

Minato wholeheartedly agreed to accompany them to the organization. And the foremost thought on the Yondaime Hokage's mind was revenge.

They scouted the lands, coming across the broken body of one Tauyua Kurama.

It seems that she was abandoned by her mas- _former_ master, and now nursing a deep grudge. The near-death-experience had also helped her awaken a bloodline.

The Itonami trained - ironically - for three years, to polish up on their skills.

And finally...

It started.

* * *

><p>Omake file #4: Do you remember chapter 4 where Sasori tells a story of the Nibi extraction?<p>

"Taa-daa!" Hidan grinned. "We broke the (BEEP)ing record!"

Beside him, Kakuzu stood stiffly. "The mission is successful." he said plainly. "Call the others, we're going to extract it."

Pein's eyebrow twitched. "I would prefer to stay in a safer place than last time. Falling off a ten-foot tall stone thumb, is NOT fun."

Konan smiled. "If you weren't a corpse, you'd be dead. Too bad you were the only person that has to stay inside the base during an extraction."

"The radioactive waves interferes with those chakra receivers." Pein grumbled, messaging his forehead. "It gives me a headache and my ears ring."

Konan simply left to the outside for a safe place before activating the hologram.

"Hey, un!" Deidara exclaimed. "We are at the middle of nowhere! Can't you wait for us to find a place to sleep first?"

Sasori snorted. "You big baby. Always complaining about everything."

"You're made of wood, un! You can't feel anything!" Deidara retorted.

"That shows why a wooden body is better, brat."

"A big explosion will burn it."

"I have water guns built in my body."

"I have micro bombs that can sneak into you."

"Puppets don't breathe, nor they-" their arguing was interrupted by Pein's booming voice.

"ENOUGH! Now, for the first step towards world domination, we will test out the statue of the Outer Path!"

All was quiet as the members sat there, observing the beast.

Half a day went by without a single word. Of course, Tobi wasn't there yet, so things were much quieter.

"Ahh!" they all jumped as Deidara's voice pierced the silence. "There's something sniffing me!"

"Hold on for a second." Sasori's holographic form flickered for a moment before returning. "No threats. It's just a dog."

"It's still there, un!" Deidara wailed. "It's stepping on my hair!"

"Oh stuff it." Sasori snapped. "If you can't handle a bit of pain, you don't deserves to be ninja."

"My precious hair... is DIRTY!" Deidara shouted. "Don't you know how many hours I spent in the bathroom to clean, brush, and tie it?"

"If I chase it away, would you stop screaming?" Sasori asked, but received no answer as holographic Deidara curled up, sobbing over his ruined hair.

"If there hadn't been Orochimaru, I'd be convinced that you are gay." Kisame commented casually.

"Just shut up." Deidara moaned.

Silence again, except for the occasional noise of discomfort from Deidara.

...

...

"Ow, it bit my hand!"

...

...

"W-wait, what's it doing- AHHHHHHH!"

Sasori couldn't stand it anymore. "What the (BEEP) is it doing that you can't stay silence for at least an hour?" he snapped.

Deidara ignored him as he continued to scream in horror and disgust. "AHHHHHHHHHH-" he suddenly doubled over, clutching his stomach and coughing violently.

Now slightly alarmed, Sasori cancelled the hologram for a moment, and then came back.

"What was it?" Itachi asked, slightly impatiently.

Sasori sighed and massaged his temple. "There was that dog that took a piss on his face. I chased it off, end of story."

Deidara looked positively murderous. "SON OF A (BEEEEEEP)ING (BEEEP) (BEEP)! JUST WAIT TILL I (BEEP)ING GET MY (BEEEP)ING HANDS ON YOU, YOU (BEEP)ER! (BEEEEEEEP) (BEEEP) (BEEP)!" he cancelled the hologram.

Now the only people in the room are: Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Pein, Konan, and Zetsu.

"The brat's chasing the dog down and blew it to pieces." Sasori deadpanned after another look outside.

There was a stunned silence before they started laughing.

Pein fell off the statue again.

* * *

><p>Omake file #5: How the hell did Juubi unleash the Kyuubi if both of them are trapped?<p>

Cackling slightly as he poked at the decaying barrier, Juubi started shifting in boredom.

**"Freedom is near, at last."** he mused. **"Now, there _is_ a te****chnique I could use to break the seal, but the risk might be too great. It takes most of my chakra, and my reserves are large enough for me to be resting for years."**

But still, it was worth a try.

Juubi split into two parts, one huge mass of black which contains 95% of his power, and the other 5% remained, or else he would overuse his energy and die.

He started glowing into a dim grey, and with a swish of all ten tails, it shattered.

In his bed, Madara sat up suddenly in a hypnotic kind of state, and disappeared in a swirl of space and time.

Juubi flexed his human arms, transfixed as he relished in the feeling of being a solid being once more.

It would only take a night, and the next morning Madara wouldn't know what happened.

He smirked, showing fangs. **"It's time for revenge against Konoha."**

The rest of the story was the same as what has happened in the manga.

* * *

><p>Omake file #6: how Naruto learned French.<p>

Naruto was not the brightest kid in the world.

It was not the kid's fault or anything, it's just that there was nobody there to teach him anything.

The academy students were expected to be literate. So they could just hand a few jutsu scrolls and tell the kids to study them. If they don't know a word, then their parents will tell them.

But Naruto does not have anyone to learn from.

Luckily, or unluckily, the librarian does not hate him, so he got a few picture books to look at in the kids section.

Young minds are impressionable, and many languages could be learned if a kid read a book in that language for a long time.

Confusing French and English(japanese), Naruto continued reading kid books.

He was five at that time, and had not entered the academy yet.

Naruto doesn't go outside for fear of being glared at, so he doesn't read the store names.

Nobody bothered to check up on him, so they didn't know Naruto's little problem.

_Bonjour._ Naruto scribbled neatly on a piece of paper. _Je mappelle Naruto. J'ai six ans, et J'adore ramen!_

"Hello," he read it aloud, unaware of reading a completely different language, "My name is Naruto. I am six years old, and I love ramen!"

Satisfied with his work, he stuffed it inside a backpack to give to the teacher.

It took them three years and two failed genin exams to correct Naruto's language mix-up.

* * *

><p>Omake file #7: How Tobi learned Shadow clone no jutsu.<p>

Skipping merrily down a forest path, Naruto came across a strange sight.

Why is there a man with an orange mask there, lying on the middle of the floor.

Before Naruto could have a more detailed look at him, the only eye-hole on the mask blazed to crimson, seemingly sucking Naruto in.

Naruto landed on cool marble floor, glancing around as to where he was.

He was suddenly approached by the masked person he saw earlier.

"Yay! Someone came to play with Tobi!"

Naruto rubbed his head. This Tobi character seems weird, speaking in third person. But he seemed harmless.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" he proudly exclaimed. "I like training, ramen, and my friends! I will become Hokage one day!"

With equal enthusiasm, Tobi responded cheerfully, "Tobi's name is Tobi! Tobi likes candy, people, and Tobi's senpai! Tobi's dream is to have lots of friends!"

"Don't you have friends here?" Naruto asked.

Tobi's head drooped. "No, Tobi doesn't. Tobi gets bored in here. Tobi wants something to do..."

"Well, I can teach you an awesome technique!" Naruto grinned. "It's called the Shadow Clone no jutsu! It's a variation on the clone technique, except that it's solid and dies after being hit too hard. Look, I can show it to you so you can have something to keep you occupied here!"

Tobi nodded eagerly and watched in awe as hundreds of Narutos appeared. "So cool!"

Naruto nodded and gave a thumbs-up before disappearing.

Tobi performed the technique flawlessly after memorizing it with the sharingan.

Madara-san would be so proud once he sees this!

* * *

><p>Omake file #8: In chapter 11, Izuna mentioned an incident where he and Madara swapped bodies for a week.<p>

(Day 1)

"Fear me, evil villain! For I, Madara the shodaime Hokage will rid the world of you meance!" chibi Madara cried as he and his brother engaged in a rapid battle of imaginary jutsus.

"Muahahaha!" Izuna laughed, "Thou shalt not lay a hand on me, Izuna the dangerous!"

"Yamikari no jutsu!" (dark cut) Madara held his arm in a slicing motion, hitting Izuna in the stomach.

"Alas, I am defeated!" the younger brother cried out dramatically, "But thou shalt beware of my final attack, I have stolen from the Yamanakas. Behold... the Mind reading jutsu!"

he did a few random hand signals before letting out a blast of chakra for dramatic effect.

But by pure luck, a new jutsu was invented.

Both brothers were engulfed by a flash of white light.

(Day 2)

"Hide." 'Izuna' motioned towards 'Madara'. "Our clan is searching for us."

"Oh the humiliation we'd endure once this is over! The endless rumors, the jokes, the teasing!" 'Madara' cried. "You're the eldest here, so YOU wouldn't get picked on."

'Izuna' crossed his arms. "Izuna, did you remember what you used?" he asked, hoping for his brother to say yes.

"No." 'Madara' shook his head. "It was just random hand motions, a blast of chakra, and then we switched bodies."

'Izuna' sighed, leaning against a tree. "We have to wait it out." he said, "all techniques requires chakra, so this will end when we run out."

"And when is that? Eternity?" 'Madara' grumbled. "This was the first time I hated having more chakra than you do. Thanks, by the way."

"Oh shut up."

(Day 3)

"You think we should just go back there? We were pretty similar in attitude and-"

"No!" 'Izuna' exclaimed. "Our parents would know if the clan doesn't! Father knew me rather well as I was the eldest. He would know something was wrong the moment we speak!"

"We won't speak then."

"That's even MORE suspicious."

*sigh*. "You're right."

(Day 4)

"I'm huuuuungry!" 'Madara' whined.

"Shut up, Izuna. If we have food, our chakra levels will go up, rendering this whole activity pointless and we would all be back to square one." 'Izuna' snapped. He was grumpy when hungry.

"What if we're trapped like this forever?" 'Madara' gasped, "What if your theory failed?"

"Baka!" 'Izuna' smacked him over the head. "My plans always work!"

"Fine, fine." 'Madara' grumbled, clutching his head. "How could you hit your own body?"

"Humph. I know that we have about a week left. This bruise would fade long before then."

"..."

(Day 5)

"Someone's coming!" said 'Madara', scurrying towards 'Izuna''s hiding place.

"Run." 'Izuna' commanded, and the two took off.

The two ran the rest of their day away, evading whoever was chasing them.

(Day 6)

*huff huff* "Almost over." 'Izuna' panted as he and 'Madara' sat in the forest, cooking a big fish.

"I hope they'll never find us in the thick trees." said 'Madara'.

"But if we light the fire, they'll see the smoke." 'Izuna' said quietly, dumping a bucket of water on it.

"Hey, that's my fish!"

"It's cooked already, so eat. I don't want my body to be half-dead when I return."

"But wouldn't our chakra replenish?"

"Today's running would make up for it. Eat any less and we would starve."

*sigh* "Alright." 'Madara' grumbled.

(Day 7)

Izuna and Madara woke to the bright sun shining on their faces.

"AH!" Madara cried out, staring at himself. "We're back! It worked!"

Sadly, their little moment of victory was interrupted as several angry grown-ups stormed into the clearing.

The two brothers gulped.

"We're dead." said Madara.

* * *

><p>Omake file #9: How Madara caused the toilet to overflow<p>

Madara was brushing his teeth in front of the mirror.

Of course, that would mean removing his mask.

Madara knew that many people would want to have a look at his face. Normally, this would be alright as they already knew his identity.

But Madara knew he can't just reveal his Rin'negan without a backup story of how he got it.

That led to Madara requesting as many locks as possible for the bathroom door.

One particularly heavy piece of metal impacted against a lever, causing the toilet to flush.

At the same time, Madara's hand accidentally brushed against his mask that was lying on the sink, sending it flying.

The mask was made out of plastic, really tough plastic, but light plastic.

It flew towards the toilet and dragged down by the whirlpool. And all of a sudden, a roaring noise rumbled inside.

The mask was blocking the passage of water.

The water pressure grew and grew until it erupted, flooding the entire bathroom and dousing Madara.

Madara covered his Rin'negan with his long bangs, and unlocked the door, using his cloak to keep the water at bay.

Since it was so dark back there, nobody noticed.

"I need help." he said nervously.


	23. A Flaw in the Plan

**Hi! It's me again! I'm sooo busy these days... Not much time to type this. So, enjoyed the interlude?**

**This time on tSoC, we have our group of misfits - er, I mean_ leaders_, wandering around trying to find the direction that points them to home.**

**Aaaand, danger looms in the horizon! Heheheh...**

**PS, I found my notebook! Yay!**

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 12: A Flaw in the Plan✿<p>

_A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step_

* * *

><p><em>"Hold on Naruto." said Khorale. "They're back, but we don't know where they are for the moment. It could take them a long time to get here, especially if they're lost."<em>

_Kakashi stood up. "Well, I've got to call a meeting. It'll be quick since the Akatsuki is letting us use their hologram machine." he pointed at the ring lying on the desk. "This one used to be Itachi's'."_

_Naruto stifled his laughter. Oh, Sasuke's face when he finds Itachi's ring on Kakashi's desk…_

* * *

><p>Kabuto was training on top of a lake when he heard a loud exclamation behind him.<p>

"Holy crap!" a five-year-old civilian child (who had never seen a ninja before) looked at him with awe. "You were healing people earlier, and now you're walking on water! You must be..."

Kabuto inwardly smirked. It seemed that he was quite famous around here.

"... Jesus!" the boy concluded.

Kabuto facefaulted.

* * *

><p>"There's a bandit camp in about twenty miles northwest. They could provide us some information and directions." said the Raikage.<p>

"I don't think they would let us come and go freely." Gaara deadpanned.

"Infiltration, then." said the Tsuchikage. "She," he pointed at the Mizukage, "could disguise as a helpless damsel in distress. Young men these days just can't say no to a pretty girl."

The Mizukage made a disgusted face. "I absolutely suck at infiltration missions. My best skills are strategy and defense."

"Tsunade, then?" Orochimaru grinned.

"I wouldn't last two seconds without punching them." Tsunade said shortly.

"Me too." the Raikage shrugged. "Besides, henges are only affecting your appearance! I would give myself away the moment I speak!"

Suddenly, they all turned towards Madara, who stiffened.

"Oh_ please_ no." the masked man groaned as he backed away. "I am suddenly disliking the idea."

"Your Akatsuki cloak is stiff enough so even if you're a girl, your assets wouldn't be seen. If you let down your hair, it's long enough to reach your back. You have the acting skills, from the years of playing Tobi. If you pitch your voice to sound like Tobi, it could pass as a woman, just don't sound childish." said Tsunade.

Madara sighed as he took off his mask, carefully positioning his bangs to cover his Rin'negan eye.

"Is this okay?" He asked in irritation.

"It"s fine," the Raikage said dismissively.

Tsunade shook her head at their bantering. "Pretend to be hurt. People are often soft upon damsels in distress."

Madara took a kunai and stabbed it in his leg. "This is real enough."

The others gave him weird looks.

"What?" he said. "It won't bleed unless I pull it out."

"Doesn't it hurt?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

Madara shrugged. "We're _ninjas!_A little pain never bothers us!"

"That's a wound, you're treating it like a measly cut." Gaara added helpfully.

"I've endured worse things in the past, and why do you care?"

"We're working together right now, so we have the right to look out after each other." said Tsunade.

"Fine." Madara grumbled, and took off into the trees. "Goody-two-shoes, Konoha's full of them."

He slowly stepped within the bandit group's sight, took a deep breath, and screamed.

"HELP!" He cried in his Tobi voice. He noted that some of the bandits were eying 'her' lustfully as they advanced upon 'her'.

"Now who do we have here?" a bandit leered as he poked a knife against Madara's rather stiff Akatsuki cloak. "A pretty little woman, lost her way in the woods?"

Madara gritted his teeth as he seethed mentally. Nobody talks to an Uchiha like that!

"C-can you t-tell me where I am?" Madara forced out, trying to remember the way that Hyuuga girl always stammered around Naruto.

"Sure." the man gave 'her' a lecherous grin. "But first, please, come to my camp! We've got the bed all warmed up for you." He eyed 'her' hungrily.

"No." Madara said flatly.

The bandit smirked. "Why, I don't think you have a choice!" he said all too cheerfully as he steered Madara to the direction to the bandit camp.

Madara turned his head to look for the other leaders hidden amongst the trees, and to his dismay, they were all giving him thumb-ups.

He gestured angrily at the bandit currently holding him, but the Tsuchikage mouthed at him 'play along'. Madara stormed angrily away with the poor confused bandit in tow.

* * *

><p>"Oh pretty girl, what is your name?" The bandit managed to regain his composure and the others came, following them to camp.<p>

"Diamau Harcha." said Madara, using an anagram of his name.

"Oh, what a good name for a pretty girl." the bandit smirked. "Would you like to have some_fun_with us?"

"No." Madara said flatly.

"Diamau-chan, you don't have a choice." They started advancing on 'her'.

Madara's eyes flashed red.

* * *

><p>(An hour later)<p>

Madara stormed back to the other leader's hiding place.

They stared at him for a moment, and then started laughing.

'Shut up." Madara snapped, irradiated, "it's NOT funny!"

"They made you wear a DRESS! HAHAHAHAH!"

"I Tsukuyomi'd them right after that! And I can't find my Akatsuki clothes anywhere!"

"If I hadn't know you were forced into this, I could've sworn you were gay! Cross-dressing, growing your hair long..."

"Say one more thing and I'll END you." Madara said darkly. "By the way, we're in uncharted territory, at the other side of the mountain range will be Hoshigakure. And that's the nearest village."

"You mean we have to climb that stupid mountain again?" Danzo grunted.

"Correct." the Tsuchikage confirmed, gazing at the landscape. Then, a thought occurred to him. "When we went up and down the mountain, it took half a day. So I'm sure that the Itonami know we've escaped."

"We have to hurry." the Mizukage said urgently.

"We can't shunshin because it would flare our chakra." Sasuke frowned. No reverse-summoning since it won't get us anywhere. No fire because of the smoke might attract the Itonami. No food or water, and even if we kill some wildlife, we can't cook it or boil water. No-" he was cut off as the cliff he was climbing up on crumpled.

"!"

Sasuke hung on - barely - on a single piece of rock, the rest of his body dangling with only one hand to keep from falling to his death.

"Don't worry, Uchiha!" the Raikage called out quite cheerfully (some subconscious grudge from the other timeline, perhaps?) "If you fall, Danzo will use Izanagi to prevent your death!"

"Hn! Hnnn n Hn. Hn hnnn!" Sasuke snapped.

Danzo and Madara winced.

"Such language..." Madara said, appalled, "What would your mother say"

"My mother's DEAD! Because of ITACHI, YOU, AND DANZO!"

Madara sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll help."

Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. "Why? I refuse to believe you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

Madara smirked. "Smart boy." he commented. "I just want to test something out."

The others paled.

"The first time you said that, you unleashed the Kyuubi using an experimental summoning scroll." Tsunade said.

"The second time you said that, you nearly killed me using your new jutsu you learned." said Danzo.

"The third time was the time when..." Gaara trailed off at the traumatic memory. "I'm trying not to remember that particular experience."

Beneath the mask, Madara grinned. The fourth time was when he revealed his wood release, and the fifth was the revelation of his Rin'negan. But those were in the other timeline, so they didn't count.

CRACK.

"!" Sasuke was free-falling once more.

Madara held one hand in front of him as he concentrated. By logic, this should work.

Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju. The three clans originated from a single person, each getting their own special abilities. But it's not entirely impossible for one clan to have another one's attributes. For example, the Sharingan was gained by Hatake Kakashi and the Rin'negan plus wood release were gained by Madara himself. Even if it was through unnatural means, the fact that it's possible to transplant a kekkei genkai opened up a world of possibilities.

And if such thing is possible, then searching for an extinct kekkei genkai within your own DNA is also possible.

When you are born, you get genes from both of your parents, while they got theirs from_ their_ parents - and so on. As you go further and further back, the smaller the trace of gene you can find. But it's still there, no matter how small it is. Humans went through hundreds of evolutions, but faint traces of animal genes still exist somewhere inside.

There was the special ability Madara was searching for, the one that would be the most effective against Juubi.

_You don't mean...! _Hashirama gasped, as Juubi growled angrily.

'Just watch.' Madara thought back smugly.

Chakra chains shot out of a mass of white flames, circling around Sasuke and throwing him up into the air. The others gasped at the sudden appearance of another surprise Madara had apparently hid up in his huge bag of tricks. (figuratively speaking.)

"What...How..." Tsunade sputtered, grasping for words.

Madara hummed and walked on, his ego restored. (Recovered from the cross-dressing earlier!)

* * *

><p>"Jesus!" the child cried excitedly, "Can you teach me how to be a god too?"<p>

Kabuto held his hand in front of him warily. "Look, kid. I don't what you're talkin-"

"I've never met a real live god before! Can I touch you?" The boy asked innocently, not aware of the rather perverse comment he made.

Now completely freaked out, Kabuto backpedaled away. "My name is KABUTO! K-A-B-U-T-O! It is most definitely not Jesus. Besides, all ninja can walk on water."

The boy's eyes widened. "A whole world full of Jesuses! Incredible!"

Kabuto sighed and pushed his glasses along the bridge of his nose. A habit of his whenever he got annoyed.

"Somebody save me from this delusional child."

* * *

><p>Five hours had passed without a word.<p>

Not that there was anything to talk about, of course. The leaders were used to Madara's endless surprises, so after getting over the shock, things were back to normal.

Well, as normal as it could get, I suppose...

"We're FINALLY here!" the Tsuchikage gasped, rubbing his sore back. "We've been running all day!"

"Humph." Madara snorted, turning away. "We have no time to waste, old man. Every second could be crucial for preventing the Itonami from finding us again."

"Who are you calling old?" the Tsuchikage snapped. "You're the one who's older than me!"

"I'm immortal, so I'm only about twenty or so." Madara bragged.

They stopped their bantering as they neared the village gates of Hoshigakure.

"Greetings, Hoshi-nins. We came in peace. Take us to your leader." Tsunade stated. She smirked as she saw the wide-eyed child' retreating form. "Heh, I always wanted to do that, but it would've ruined my reputation."

"Very alien-like." the Raikage muttered sarcastically, "Now all you need is laser guns, and we're set."

"Quiet, you." said the Mizukage. "We're here to ask for directions, not to terrorize people!"

"True." Tsunade mumbled, her shoulders sagging.

"Come on." said the Tsuchikage, using dust release to float. "I want to get this over with."

They jogged to the village-leader's office.

Since this was simply a minor civilian village (I have only read the manga, so don't tell me what Hoshigakure is really like!), there was no military force. There was no Kage, either, just a civilian leader.

"Welcome to Hoshigakure, the village hidden in the stars!" a chubby jolly-looking man cried as he approached them, "How may I help you?"

"This man is too trusting!"Juubi grumbled.

"Eh... You see, my group and I were looking for Konoha" Sasuke stated, "Would you assist us?" he asked, avoiding using the word 'help'.

Madara rolled his eyes. Not that anyone could see it behind his mask.

"Who are you, though?" the village leader asked.

"Aren't you supposed to introduce yourself first?" Orochimaru spoke up.

"That's right!" the man rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'm Santa Claus."

The rest of them gaped at him.

Finally, it was Gaara who broke the silence. "I'm Sabaku no Gaara."

"I am Senju Tsunade."

"I'm Orochimaru, of the Sanin."

I am the Raikage of Kumogakure.

"I am Uchiha Madara of the Akatsuki."

"I am the Mizukage of Kirigakure."

"I am the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure."

"I am Uchiha Sasuke, enough said."

"I am Shimura Danzo, leader of Root."

By now, Santa was the one with the dropped jaw. These were people of legend, standing right before him!

"K-Konoha is a three-day trip to the w-west." he said, stammering slightly. "You would pass Suna first, though."

Gaara nodded and stood up impatiently. "Let's go." he said.

* * *

><p>"Kabuto." Anko said menacingly, "Why are you kidnapping a six-year-old kid?"<p>

"I'm NOT kidnapping him!" Kabuto wailed, almost in tears, as he tried to tug the persistent child's hand away from his own.

"Jesus-sama!" the boy cried happily, not helping the situation at all.

An eyebrow rose. "You tricked him into thinking you're god?" Anko asked incredulously.

"Mean lady, don't hurt Jesus-sama!

"Look, he's not-"

"Just. Shut. Up." Kabuto whimpered, curling into a ball.

* * *

><p>It's raining heavily as the Leaders ran down a narrow ledge at the side of a cliff, soaked to the bone.<p>

"I hate this godamned weather." Madara grumbled grouchily, trying to shake the water out of his clothes, -which, by the way, were still that black dress he was made to wear earlier. Remember the bandits? "I look so undignified in this ridiculous dress! What if Izuna saw me?"

"Izuna?" Sasuke asked, intrigued, "Isn't he your brother who died a long time ago?

"..."

ZAP

Just so you know, that wasn't Madara. Because they're so high up climbing the cliff ledges, adding the water that conducts electricity, they were a lightning magnet. And it doesn't help that the Raikage was the tallest around.

"We have to find shelter somewhere." said Tsunade said, picking up the smoking body. "Or we're next."

They jumped downwards, using chakra to cushion their fall. Madara used Shinra Tensei, Gaara had his sand, the Tsuchikage had dust release (which was barely working because of the wind blowing most of the dust away). The rest of them just did a backflip instead of some fancy techniques.

"I see a mansion over there." Sasuke said, squinting through the fog created by the rain.

They hurried inside, closing the door and wringing their clothes dry.

Madara set a few candles on fire, since Amaterasu would take a lot of chakra.

CREEEEEEAK.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. Footsteps came from the attic, yet the house was abandoned.

They waited with baited breaths, but the footsteps came to a sudden halt. No other noise except the Leaders' breathing and the sound of distant thunder. The rain still hadn't stopped.

"This is like a scary movie or something."

"We'd better get out, now!"

"The door's locked!"

"Just bust it down already!"

POW

CRASH

BOOM

sssssSSSSSsss...

"Owww... My head."

"You idiot!"

"Hey, I can't see!"

"What just happened?"

"Tsunade tried to punch it. A vase shattered and fell on Madara, who slipped and now there's fire on the rug!"

"Um... Sorry."

SCREEEEECH.

The sound of a door closing met their ears.

Silence.

Footsteps, those creepy footsteps again, walking slowly down the stairs.

"Hide!" Danzo hissed , so they all dove into a closet.

It was pitch black, and Madara barely withheld a shriek as he turned to face a skeleton in the closet, that seemed to be staring straight at them.

Luckily, Sasuke destroyed it with a few well-placed fireballs.

But because of the cramped space and the smoke produced by the fire (not to mention the candles), it was getting hard to breathe.

Casting wary glances to their surroundings, the leaders stepped out.

No sound in the mansion, except for the occasional howl-like noise the wind makes.

"I'm going to the washroom." the Tsuchikage muttered, using his candle to shine a light down the dusty hall. "And hope that the toilet still works."

He gulped.

* * *

><p>Hinote was chewing on a piece of caramel, occasionally scribbling a few notes in her book.<p>

"What are you doing?" Tauyua asked, intrigued.

Hinote shrugged. "More ways to torment Khorale, new ideas for the final battle, how to leave random hints about that little white flower Madara picked up back there."

"What flower?"

"It was more like a- wait, did you say something?"

"No, carry on. What's more like a what?"

"Nothing..."

"Where's Zabuza?"

A pause, "Around." Hinote said finally. "Speaking of which, don't you need to find him? You've got a mission, you know."

"Alright alright... But I think the bastard started it without me."

"Go on, then."

"Fine."

* * *

><p>Half an hour passed.<p>

The Tsuchikage never returned, and the others became increasingly worried.

"A trip to the bathroom can't take THIS long!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Unless _someone_ got their mask stuck in the toilet." he sent a glare towards Madara.

"Hey, it was an accident!"

"Around you, accidents don't exist."

"Oh come on, I won't get rid of my old mask, it reminds me of Tobi!"

"You ARE Tobi."

"I am, but he's not me!"

"..."

"He became a split personality for a while, but then he faded because everybody knew who I was at the point, so anymore acting would be useless. Now, I could still be Tobi, but he's not me."

"... I still don't get it."

"Humph." Madara grumbled, annoyed.

"I'm going to spare myself the headache and go find him." Tsunade said finally, walking from the gathered group.

"We're going to the kitchen." Gaara announced. "Orochimaru has_ kindly _decided to build us a communicator that could reach Konoha, and there might be food to last us through the night."

* * *

><p>Kakashi stood in the Kage Summit room in hologram form, standing there.<p>

"Only one minute late, now _that's _a record!" Temari said, nodding to the others.

"Yo! I'm Bee!" Kirabi said.

"You're bi?" Pein asked curiously.

"NO!" Bee exclaimed, flustered. "I'm ain't gonna be bi 'cause I'm just me!"

They all sighed.

"Kabuto, who's that with you?" Pein asked curiously.

Kabuto hung his head. "Oh great Pein-sama! I shall owe you a great debt if you can convince that child of his delusions!" he cried dramatically.

"?" the child tilted his head. "Jesus-sama!"

Pein rubbed his forehead. "So he." points to the boy, "Thinks that you." points at Kabuto. "are a GOD?"

Kabuto nodded reluctantly.

"It's true!" the child piped up. "Jesus-sama can heal people and walk on water! It's written in the bible too!"

Pein snorted. "All medic-nins can do that."

"Yeah! It's a world full of gods out there!"

A round of facepalms from eavesdroppers.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade's also missing." Madara announced.<p>

"Humph." Orochimaru grunted as he took apart several kitchen appliances to make the communicator.

All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew from a nearby window and the candles were blown out. There wasn't much left of it to start another fire.

"I'm thinking," Sasuke mused, "That if two of us went together, we could watch each other's backs."  
>"Oh, you can't be suggesting." Madara groaned.<p>

"That we go together, yes." Sasuke confirmed. "There's a lesser chance of danger or getting lost."

"I'm staying here." Madara snapped.

"Too bad." Sasuke said firmly. "The only one I'm willing to go with, is another Uchiha."

There was a moment as Madara considered his options.

Finally, he sighed and used Amaterasu, suspending it in the air. "I'm ready now." he said.

* * *

><p>Izuna and Minato were now seated on the top of a mountain.<p>

"They couldn't have gotten very far." Minato said halfheartedly.

Izuna nodded. "I wonder if the seal was strong enough to seal Juubi for a long time."

Minato drew out his rough draft of the seal. "I modified Kyuubi's seal so that it wouldn't sacrifice a life to use it. But without the sacrifice, the seal was incredibly weak, so I used this," he pointed at the two arrow-like drawings, "To create holes so that it would draw on Juubi's own chakra to keep him contained. But once it's all used up, Juubi will break free."

"I see." Izuna said, "When he's out, Juubi will be powerless because the seal would've drained all his power. Then, we can seal him again."

"There is a glitch, though." Minato warned. "If Madara was put under huge emotional stress, then his chakra will eat away at the seal. So before the seal could suck out all of Juubi's chakra, the demon may get free."

Izuna sighed. "I hope nothing happens, but the Ryūketsu no Ha..." he trailed off.

"Could it really happen?"

There was no answer.

* * *

><p><strong>Holy cow! I'm FINALLY done with this incredibly-hard-to-write chapter! Sorry for the huge chain of interludes...<strong>

**Next chapter: More on the Haunted house, a battle between two groups, and the rivalry between Hidan and the religious kid begins!**

* * *

><p><strong>Itonami members:<strong>

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**Tauyua– Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious ****People ****Yet to be ****Revealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler<strong>:

_"Oh, here and there." Sasuke shrugged. "There was this creepy painting, and then a giant weasel tried to eat us, and then we fell down a hole which led us into a bathroom. I could have sworn there was a mirror covered with blood with a terrible face-"_

_"Oi! Who's face are you calling terrible?" Tauyua growled._

_"Oh, that was you?" Madara said, relieved. "I thought for a second that the hags of hell were after us or something."_


	24. Dangerous Waters

**I'm awfully busy these days. But still, I'm so proud to have typed this in a single day! It was a sudden rush of inspiration that could go away at any given moment, but I succeeded. Barely.**

**I hope nobody gave up on the story yet, I'm trying to achieve 100 reviews! Right now it's 77, so 23 more to go!**

**PS, If my estimation is right, then there's about three more chapters left, not including interludes.**

**PPS, I read DBZ fanfics and found that the word 'senshi' is used for another meaning... So to prevent any previous confusions, the 'senshi' used HERE, means 'shifter'. I got it off a translator. I don't care what the other senshi means.**

**PPPS, My other fanfic called 'Blank' is finished. Do you want a sequel?**

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 13: Dangerous Waters✿<p>

_A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush._

* * *

><p><em>Izuna sighed. "I hope nothing happens, but the Ryūketsu no Ha..." he trailed off.<em>

_"Could it really happen?"_

_There was no answer._

* * *

><p>They wandered the dim hallways with only two candles to light the way.<p>

_Creak. Creeeeak. Creak. Creeeeeak._

Their footsteps sounded loud in the tense atmosphere, and their harsh breathing indicated their fear.

"Madara." Sasuke broke the silence. "What do you think happened to those that went missing?"

No answer.

Fearing what he might see, Sasuke turned around slowly.

He felt a wave of relief as he found Madara staring at a painting. Good, he was not alone in this incredibly creepy house. "Madara?"

"Shhh." Madara was watching something, but Sasuke couldn't see in the darkness. Turning on his sharingan, Sasuke jumped back with alarm.

Unlike the picture of the owner of the house (who was dead, by the way,) it was just an illusion. The actual picture was huge and covered the entire wall. It was drenched and colored with actual human blood, the picture of a mutilated skull with strips of gruesome flesh and a half-formed eyeball in a socket. It was covered in cobwebs and_ it was looking right at them._

"We're heading back." Madara said, freaked out and backing away.

They turned and walked back, but there was a problem.

The painting _moved._

* * *

><p>"What was that sound I heard?" Gaara wondered. Orochimaru was still fiddling at the communicator, and the Raikage was recovering.<p>

"DONE!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "Now, all we needed was to press the button that says 'Konoha'."

There was a silence as the three of them waited with baited breaths. Finally, a lazy voice answered.

"Moshi moshi? And why did a phone just appear out of thin air?"

"It worked?" Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"Don't doubt my genius." Orochimaru grinned smugly.

"Gaara! Orochimaru! Is Tsunade with you?" Kakashi exclaimed, recognizing their voices.

"No, we got separated. Now where's Tsunade?"

"Oi oi, why can't somebody worry about me?" Danzo grumbled.

"You're just a manipulative old coot."

"She's one of the missing people. By the way, Madara and Sasuke haven't returned yet." the Mizukage said.

"So... Where are you?"

"On a mountain at the other side of Hoshigakure."

"Hoshigakure? I've never heard of that village before. Let's see..." Kakashi was going through records of every single village that ever existed. "No, It's not on there. Odd. My list has all villages, even ones that were wiped out, mini civilian villages, or even clan groups."

"So you're saying it doesn't exist?" Gaara asked, a feeling of dread growing inside of him.

"Y-" They were cut off by static.

"The power must've run out." said Orochimaru, distraught.

"If Hoshigakure never existed, then what was that village?"

There was a pause.

"...Shit." Danzo muttered, summing up all their thoughts perfectly.

* * *

><p>Juubi could only hear titbits of conversations between Madara and Hashirama, but to his frustration, he could only hear tiny pieces.<p>

"... you ... ... ... hell ... ...all this?"

"... believe... ... ... ... ... two made ... ... ... ... genjutsus and his ... ... ..."

"Where ... ... ... hiding? If ... ... ... ... house and manipulating ... ... ... we'll never ... ... when ... ... ... get out of this damn house!"

"No, ... ... ... ..., picking ... ... ... ... ..."

"I'm going to ... ... ... ... ... meaning to '... ... ... ... hand ... ... ... in the ...'. They want ... ... ... ...? I'll ... ... ... to my ... ... make ... ... ... coming here!" Madara grinned.

"So you ... ... ... boy will be ... ... ... 'bush'?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated ... ... ...?"

"I'm not." Madara snapped.

"What about the time when-"

"Just. Shut. Up."

* * *

><p>Khorale paced up and down, pondering about the phone call Kakashi received from the leaders. Hidden village of the stars? Santa Claus? The leaders didn't seem to be lying, nor they were high. So chances are that they were actually in a village.<p>

That, or ghosts.

She shivered.

No ghosts.

"So you mean the village's just in their imagination?" Khorale asked sarcastically.

It's a plot, actually. Don't you think the Itonami would do nothing and just let them escape?

"So... The Itonami is behind this?"

I'm still deciding upon the idea of real ghosts, or just a bunch of genjutsu caused by...I paused.

"Caused by...?"

I'm still deciding, remember?

* * *

><p>A crash rent the air.<p>

What remained of the leaders jumped at the sudden sound.

A single trapdoor opened, separating the leaders as some of them fell.

Now the only ones remaining in the kitchen were Gaara, Orochimaru, and the Raikage.

The three of them stared wide-eyed at the trapdoor. Not even the kitchen was safe, it seemed.

Gaara constructed a shield of sand as the three of them floated in the air to avoid further traps. They started wandering the abandoned mansion at last. Since nobody was returning, they might as well start searching before the three of them gets separated as well.

Orochimaru paused as he spotted an ice shard on the floor.

"It might be a trap!" the Raikage exclaimed.

"Watch." And in an incredibly disgusting display, Orochimaru's tongue shot out to pick it up. The others backed away on their sand carpet.

"Gross." Gaara deadpanned.

Orochimaru smirked as he recognized the DNA. "I believe I know who is behind this haunted house fiasco."

.

* * *

><p>Juubi tapped his foot impatiently, still in Madara's form.<strong>"Well? What are you two talking about?"<strong>

Madara sighed. "Can't you mind your own business?"

Hashirama just pressed a button that came from nowhere in particular. "Here, a flashback."

_FLASHBACK_

_"Do you know who the hell is doing all this?"_

_"I believe it's Tauyua and Zabuza. Those two made quite a pair, real genjutsus and his silent-killing technique."_

_"Where could they be hiding? If they're outside of the house and manipulating everything from afar, we'll never reach them if we can't even get out of this damn house!"_

_"No, they're in here somewhere, picking us off one by one."_

_"I'm going to teach them a whole new meaning to 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'. They want to mess with me? I'll turn the situation to my advantage and make them regret coming here!" Madara grinned._

_"So you and that Uchiha boy will be the two in the 'bush'?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated relying on someone?"_

_"I'm not." Madara snapped._

_"What about the time when-"_

_"Just. Shut. Up."_

_FLASHBACK ENDS_

**"So... Those two?"**Juubi pondered for a moment.**"Things can only get more interesting now."**His cryptic words left an atmosphere of foreboding.

* * *

><p>"It started a few years ago when a bloodied Momochi Zabuza stumbled into Otogakure." Orochimaru began. "Of course, had I known what this would lead to, I would have refused him entrance and saved everyone a lot of trouble."<p>

"Like?"

"He was carrying a body, asking for the boy's kekkei genkai to be carried on by him. And I agreed. It was always interesting to witness new bloodlines in action. And so I kept a vial of DNA in secret, to examine later. Now, it could become quite handy in defeating our enemies."

"I see." the Raikage said suddenly. "Are you going to use that technique? That one of your signature techniques, rumored to have killed the Sandaime Hokage."

Orochimaru shook his head. "I didn't kill the Sandaime. He sacrificed himself, and it didn't work out. Now watch: Edo Tensei!" A burst of smoke rose up from the fragile ground and a single coffin opened. "Welcome back to life, Haku." Orochimaru grinned.

The others stared at the animated corpse.

"We are already in a haunted house." Gaara said slowly as if explaining to a child. "You think a_zombie_will help our case?"

"I do have fifteen different vials." Orochimaru showed off his collection proudly. The others shook their heads frantically. "Fine." Orochimaru frowned, and plunged a special kunai into Haku's head.

"You created a hole in somebody's head." the Raikage said, looking faintly green.

"It doesn't allow you to control the corpse, does it?" Gaara asked, reminiscing about his past as a weapon of Suna.

"No." Orochimaru lied. "Now let's go." They floated on with Haku in tow.

* * *

><p>Izuna entered the house silently. Tauyua and Zabuza were taking far too long. He waved Minato and Utakata over.<p>

"Kogane(gold), scout the area for the remaining leaders. Musei (Silent) and Meimu(illusion) are not making any progress. Riku(shore), call for Okunote(secret) and Areno(desert)." The two nodded and headed off.

Izuna sighed and began his search for his two minions.

He walked past the twists and turns, admiring how realistic this whole genjutsu looked. Now if Tauyua was to suddenly dissipate everything, all that are left would be an empty clearing and a confused group which would be easy to round up.

His eyes twitched as he spied the skull painting. Genjutsu was nothing to the byakugan, especially to the mangekyou version of it.

Now why exactly were Madara and Sasuke in a painting?

* * *

><p>The Akatsuki were taking turns babysitting that child that was following Kabuto around.<p>

"What's your name, sweetie?" Konan asked. Since she was a female and introduced herself as the angel of Ame, she was the only one (besides Khorale, but she's in Konoha) that was not called a god.

"I'm not telling." the child stuck out his tongue. "I only obey Jesus-sama."

"You seriously think that (BEEP)ing Kabuto is a (BEEP)ing GOD?" Hidan exclaimed. "Feh, I don't (BEEP) believe that (BEEP)ing glasses simpleton could (BEEP) try being as great as Jashin-sama."

"WHY YOU!" The child leap, and struck Hidan square on the nose with his little fists. "DON"T YOU DARE INSULT JESUS-SAMA! I BET YOUR GOD IS WIMPY AND SOOO DUMB!"

Hidan turned red with rage. "SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT JASHIN-SAMA, AND I'LL (BEEP)ING SLAUGHTER YOU AND THEN STOMP ON YOUR REMAINS! YOU ARE ARE A DISGRACE TO WORSHIPERS EVERYWHERE!"

The kid punched him again, and all six paths of Pein had to break up the huge fight that came afterwards.

* * *

><p>Contrary to what Izuna was thinking, Madara and Sasuke were not<em> in<em> the painting.

After Madara figured out who was behind this all, he told Sasuke and the two devised a plan. The painting was moving, but it was the painting that moved, not the picture inside it. The huge block of canvas swung open and revealed a hidden pathway, which the duo followed.

And what Izuna saw was their shadow cast by the light of their candles, reflecting from the back of the painting.

Izuna blinked for a moment, and the images of Madara and Sasuke were gone.

"Humph. Now where are they?" he turned around and left.

By now, the entire Itonami had gathered by the front doors, waiting for their leader to arrive.

Madara and Sasuke were walking down a hallway leading to places unknown.

The Tsuchikage, the Mizukage, Tsunade, and Danzo were still missing, so not much news on them.

Haku, Orochimaru, Gaara, and the Raikage were floating towards... the place...

Oh dear."What do you mean?" Hinote asked curiously."

I think we're going to have a collision soon.

And suddenly our quartet crashed into the Itonami quite violently.

BOOM.

The sound naturally demarcated allies from both sides, such as Madara and Sasuke. Or Tauyua and Zabuza.

"Looks like the gang's all here." Madara said, crossing his arms. He activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and met Izuna's eyes calmly.

"Where have you two been?" Gaara asked, taking in the duo's scruffy appearances.

"Oh, here and there." Sasuke shrugged. "There was this creepy painting, and then a giant weasel tried to eat us, and then we fell down a hole which led us into a bathroom. I could have sworn there was a mirror covered with blood with a terrible face-"

"Oi! Who's face are you calling terrible?" Tauyua growled.

"Oh, that was you?" Madara said, relieved. "I thought for a second that the hags of hell were after us or something."

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF (BEEEEP)ING (BEEEEEP) BASTARD I SWEAR I'M GOING TO (BEEP)NG KILL YOU (BEEP)!" The others winced at her language.

"So... are we fighting now?" Haku spoke up for the first time. Zabuza's head snapped up.

"Orochimaru." He growled, yet there was a strange undertone. "Did you-"

"Yes, I did." Orochimaru smirked.

Meanwhile, Gaara was staring at his mother. Neither knew what to say, but Karura certainly wasn't going to harm her child and vice versa. Both then decided to stay mostly out of the fight that will be erupting at any given moment.

Every single lit candle flickered out as Zabuza's moist fog settled in the room. Most of them weren't too concerned about this as they were all Kage-level shinobi, and can fight blind if they wanted to. But still, Zabuza held the advantage on his chakra-laced mist. He formed icicles and it flew, though it was blocked by Gaara's sand shield.

Madara opened his sealing scroll, revealing his battle fan and scythe. To prevent killing allies, he blew several baseball-sized fireballs which turned into a rocketing inferno as the gust of wind empowered the jutsu. It briefly lit up the room and everybody lunged at their opponent before it went dark again. There was the sound of several heads colliding as the battle was put on hold for a moment as both sides sat up and held their heads in pain.

"Owww... who's head was that?"

"It's like, made of stone!"

"Not stone, baka! That's my mask!" Though Madara seemed comfortable, as his mask protected his head. He did remember colliding with Naruto from the other timeline a while back. Aside from headaches, there was also one other incident.

SLAP

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Zabuza pleaded.

"What's going on?" Kaura wondered.

"HOW DARE YOU!" another voice was yelling. They did not recognize it at first, since it was usually so quiet and all...

"Utakata?" Izuna asked. Madara suddenly realized what had happened and facefaulted. Sasuke seemed to have recalled a rather unpleasant memory and his eyes turned wide while paling.

Well, you remembered the day Iruka assigned the teams at the beginning of the series? And what happened between Naruto and Sasuke?

That incident.

So of course, Utakata was pissed off.

* * *

><p>Naruto was eating ramen when he suddenly gagged and turned green.<p>

"What happened, Naruto?" Sakura asked, terrified. Naruto would never spit out ramen!

"I just remembered..." Naruto held a haunted look. "That day..."

Inside Naruto, Kyuubi was laughing.

.

* * *

><p>"I challenge you to an eating contest!" the boy declared.<p>

"Fine, I'll (BEEP)ing enter and show you who the boss is." Hidan grumbled. "What are we eating?"

The child held up a box of girl guide cookies, and Hidan twitched.

"(BEEP), alright alright. But I get the vanilla flavored ones."

"Nope, they're all mint!"

Hidan swore again.

* * *

><p>Back to the fight...<p>

While Itonami was missing two of their members as they were busy together, Madara's side lacked people as well. But then again, they had Haku.

Beforehand, Haku refused to fight Zabuza just like Gaara refused to fight his mother. But now that his master was out of the fight, Haku finally joined. Now both sides were evenly matched while Hinote sat on the sidelines.

"Break it up, guys." she said while kicking Zabuza and Utakata, who were rolling on the floor. Sighing as she watched the duo engaged in their activity, Hinote tried a different approach.

"Either you two stop killing each other, or I'll personally tie you up and carry you to Madara and he will Tsukuyomi both of you." Despite the inappropriate wording, what Zabuza and Utakata were doing was completely innocent. They were rolling on the floor, with Zabuza's grip in Utakata's hair and the other's grabbing Zabuza's throat.

Gaara sent a few waves of sand at the darkness rather halfheartedly. He couldn't really see anything but he supposed everybody else was relying on their other senses as well. So this was a blind battle royale in which you had 50% possibility of hitting your allies. So he made each strike into the darkness harmless, the sand mostly serving as shield or his own version of echolocation. He could feel when his sand brushed up against something, to know where a person was could be helpful to avoid attacks.

Karura was far more experienced with her kekkei genkai. She sent small particles to lace around random people's feet, tripping them. Hearing their muffled curses, she assumed she got some of her own people as well. Oh well, she shrugged, she didn't care which side won. Besides, her son had a shield, so she wouldn't harm him.

Izuna was seeing perfectly fine with his Mangekyou Byakugan. It came in pretty handy right now, seeing through both the darkness and the mist. He struck quickly and carefully, each blow right on target while the rest of them looked strange, running blindly and all.

Sounds of battle echoed in the narrow hallway and Tauyua couldn't stand this darkness anymore. She created genjutsu flames and revealed everyone's startled faces. They all turned to their opponent, and sweatdropped as most realized they were battling their own side. Gaara stood in his sphere of sand and Karura simply stood there. Utakata and Zabuza stopped fighting and Hinote stopped kicking them.

Sasuke turned away from Orochimaru, confused as to how they ended up facing each other and not realizing it. Sasuke still hadn't used ShiTori yet, as it would take a lot of power.

Madara grinned and switched to his scythe. Now that he could see better, it was safer to use this. He would just have to avoid killing Izuna with it. But who said anything against beating him senseless?

"Shinra Tensei!" an invisible force slammed into the ground, throwing everyone off their feet. Madara floated in the air as he was kept afloat by constantly swinging his fan at the ground. But he couldn't keep it up for long.

Ninja wires wrapped around the pipes and anything glued to the house and he stepped onto them like a tightrope walker. There was only one flaw with this technique...

Izuna leapt on and the two were exchanging flurries of punches and kicks. It was almost like sparring, except that both sides were determined to win.

A sudden blast of fire caught both of them off balance. Izuna and Madara swung their arms wildly, trying to keep balance. It probably looked comical as they looked like they were dancing."

"What the hell is going on here?" They all turned to find the previously missing people standing there.

The two brothers fell off the wire, and all attention was directed at them instead.

Madara cleared his throat, his face slightly flushed. Izuna also got up in a dignified way. Both jumped back on the wires, and the incident would never be mentioned again.

Seeing a distraction, Sasuke faced off against his new opponent, Minato. Of course, the Yondaime Hokage was much more powerful, and Sasuke was being beaten soundly.

The steel-edged boomerang raced across the room with amazing speed and Sasuke could track it with his Sharingan, but could never be fast enough to react.

Tsunade and the others had joined the fray, bringing advantage to Madara's group. But the battle was far from over.

You see, there was no fatality on both sides, and that was on purpose. Both sides had their own reasons for leaving certain people alone. Haku was still loyal to Zabuza, and so both would avoid striking each other. Karura would subtly protect Gaara from random punches going his way, not that he needed the help. And Tsunade wouldn't meet Minato's eyes, due to his incredible resemblance to Naruto.

The sound of static reached their ears, some people paused while others just labelled it as a distraction and carried on fighting. It took a while for them all to realize that the static was a frenzy of chirping birds. Not a thousand, but millions. It was more powerful than they ever would've thought, but considering it could even override seals crafted by Minato himself...

"Well, I'd say that this battle is finished." Madara said, smiling.

"ShiTori!" was the last thing they heard before everything exploded.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't mind the few plot holes you may see in the chapter. This was typed out in ONE. SINGLE. DAY. So you could call it rushed.<strong>

**Next chapter: The dreaded Ryūketsu no Ha finally starts, the true nature of Operation Apples was revealed, and an exchange of eyes.**

* * *

><p><strong>Itonami members:<strong>

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**Tauyua– Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

**Mysterious****People****Yet to be****Revealed:**

**The mastermind of the Itonami - *********

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler<strong>:

_There was a chilling silence as Madara's brain worked furiously to comprehend what he had just heard._

_"Would you mind repeating that?" Though his tone was low and calm, Deidara winced at the dangerous undertone buried below. Madara was no doubt pissed, and he was not sure if anybody or anything can stop him._

_"M-madara, un! If you want more details, you should go ask- hey, wait!" There was a dust cloud left from where Madara stood a nanosecond earlier._


	25. Interlude: April fools

A certain Uchiha's eyes twitched.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." he murmured in disbelief, rubbing his eyes and surveying the scene in front of him.

The Akatsuki hideout was decorated in neon colors and the others are nowhere in sight. Probably the culprits of this entire... Prank.

He heard about the odd holiday somewhere, but this is ridiculous.

The inside of the hideout was lined with colorful decor, along with many more holes than usual. Prpbably people hiding beneath it to surprise him.

He snorted.

He should've punish them for this, for the shame of grown men acting like children. But he didn't.

Because in a way, this is sort of funny.


	26. Upon a Shooting Star

_The Seasons of Change_

_Chapter 13.5_

_by Khorale._

* * *

><p>Red eyes peered upon the night sky.<p>

It was strange how he never noticed the stars before.

They looked so exotic, and shone brightly to light up the earth.

In the war, there are no stars. Smoke and dust rose to fill the air. Ash enveloped the clouds, and the sky was reduced to shades of grey.

But now, the shine. Brightly in the night like heavenly candles.

A streak of blue crossed the sky, leaving a silver trail. Then it was followed by another, and another.

A special night indead.

* * *

><p>A child laughed.<p>

During the evening, the breeze felt cool. It was very fun to play in the forest.

His eyes gazed up, and saw the universe, saw the full moon glowing brilliant white.

Pretty.

His azure eyes sparkled and his hands reached, trying to reach it.

His blond hair was outlined by the glow, and his orange jumpsuit didn't seem that bright anymore.

A streak of light passed through his field of vision, his head tilted curiously to the side.

And Uzumaki Naruto made a wish.

* * *

><p>Dark, brooding eyes narrowed at the sight.<p>

His brother often took him to watch the stars.

Before the incident, before his life spiraled out of control in a single night.

He gazed up, and saw light.

White, blue, yellow, red. It gathered by several streaks of light.

It was a comet shower, the flames it ignited varied in it's tempature, thus having different tempatures.

The corner of his lips twitched upwards, as he made his wish.

* * *

><p>A redhead sat alone on a balcony.<p>

The desert was hot as always, and his sand armor itched like crazy.

At least it protected him from the heat,

The night was silent, devoid of life or assasins trying to kill him.

In the distance, he spied a glow.

His sand didn't rose to protect him, and he relaxed.

It wasn't a threat, then.

Multicolored streaks of light rained down in a beautiful display as he watched, gaping slightlly at the sight,

He had never seen anything like it.

He made his wish.

* * *

><p>Four people saw the sight that night, and three had made their wish.<p>

Four lonely people gazed upon something unique, and never knew anyone else saw.

Uchiha Madara closed his eyes, that night, and wondered what would happen if everything had gone differently.

Uzumaki Naruto pleaded that everybody will accept him.

Uchiha Sasuke hoped, against all odds, that the truth is not what it seemed.

Sabaku Gaara wished that people would start caring about him.

As years passed by, they slowly forgot, and that night faded from memory.

But unknown to them, that their wish they made.

May have came true after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Just something I wrote while trying to find a way to continue Ch14. Screw writers block, I'm gonna write something!<strong>

**This is not quite an interlude, but not quite a chapter either. Hence the title. This didn't really fit anywhere, but I want to do something that would hopefully help me get over my writers block.**

**Annnnd, it's to tell you guys that I have NOT abandon this story.  
><strong>


	27. Home is Where the Heart is

**Yo! This is Khorale speakin'! Sorry for the LONG delay, but I was kind of busy these days... Hate writers block...**

**This should have been out last week, but there was a problem, but it's fixed now.  
><strong>

**So, anyone checked the polls yet?**

**The rush of inspiration is coming back quick, and I'm tired of just staring at this chapter all day..**

**Over and out!**

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 14: Home is Where the Heart is✿<p>

_An eye for an eye_

* * *

><p><em>The sound of static reached their ears, some people paused while others just labelled it as a distraction and carried on fighting. It took a while for them all to realize that the static was a frenzy of chirping birds. Not a thousand, but millions. It was more powerful than they ever would've thought, but considering it could even override seals crafted by Minato himself...<em>

_"Well, I'd say that this battle is finished." Madara said, smiling._

_"ShiTori!" was the last thing they heard before everything exploded._

* * *

><p>A massive bolt of lightning engulfed them all, the illusion of a house twisting and dissipating. Trees were torn from their roots and electricity crackled wildly as Sasuke poured forth nearly all his chakra into one single attack.<p>

Now, purple strands of energy leaked out from Sasuke's curse seal, further strengthening the jutsu. This is one hell of attack, he noted with satisfaction before blacking out. The cursed mark faded, also, from the base of his neck. The tainted chakra that made up its essence dissipated into the sound of millions of birds.

Standing not so far away were two figures. They didn't look particularly happy to stand beside each other, but neither said a word. One had long platinum blond hair with silver eyes, and the other was somebody you and I are quite familiar with.

"So... What are we going to do now?" Khorale asked uncertainly. She seemed impressed by the massive amount of damage wrecked by ShiTori.

"..." Hinote turned around and watched as a flicker of flame died down slowly, "It seems that the Shinobi side is winning. I may have to pull some strings to reverse that." she noted.

Khorale groaned. "You can't be serious-"

Hinote smirked, "Oh, can't I? You do know what I'm here for, to maintain balance. And frankly, I don't give a shit about who wins or not."

"But still, are you going to, you know-"

"Yes." Hinote nodded calmly. "What do you think would happen, if both Konoha's enemies and allies ended up on their doorstep?"

Khorale gulped. "Not a good thing at all."

The houses shook, the earth quaked with the sheer amount of energy radiating from the distance. It wasn't surprising, considering who, or _whom_ had caused it.

It was incredible, and just about every single person in the elemental nations had felt it.

There were about... fifteen Kage-level ninjas, and they are all fighting. In the same place.

Kyuubi was pacing inside it's cage impatiently, recalling what had happened a few days prior.

_FLASHBACK_

_Madara, Naruto, and Tobi traveled down a narrow corridor, finally arriving in front of Kyuubi's cage._

_**"You again!"**__ the beast snarled.__** "You vile, wretched vermin! You will burn in the deepest parts of hell, and-"**_

_"Save it," said Madara. "I'm here because YOU refused to help the brat. Don't blame me. But we need to talk." He turned towards Naruto. "Go on without me. Tobi can help you with the vampire. The fox and I have things to discuss." Naruto nodded, and led Tobi towards the control room._

_For a moment, the Uchiha and the Fox simply gazed at each other. Finally, one of them broke eye contact._

_**"Tell me what you want, scum, and be gone." **__the demon fox said gruffly, Madara nodded and started._

_"I'm sure you're still bitter about the Konoha incident?" he asked casually. Kyuubi growled and paced behind steel bars._

_**"I assume you're here to gloat? For my utter helplessness against your stupid eyes?"**_

_"Quite the opposite, actually." said Madara, gazing up at the enormous crimson fox, "I am here to clarify something with you, because I do not have the memory of that night."_

_Kyuubi laughed harshly. __**"Oh isn't this a riot? The dumb playing dumb! We both know it was you, and your chakra signature is unmistakable."**_

_Madara nodded curtly, "Yes... But, you do remember a familiar presence? Do you not remember who I am?"_

_**"You are Uchiha Madara, damnable mortal (BEEP)ing (BEEEEP)."**_

_Madara looked annoyed, "No, a resurrected spirit. One who you were once part of." Slowly, realization dawned upon him and the bijuu's eyes widened._

_**"Juubi. He was the one who controlled me."**__ Kyuubi snarled, hissing out another few strings of curses in demon tongue._

_"And apparently me as well, for a single night." Madara admitted. "It looks like we're in the same boat, so let's work something out. If Juubi was to somehow get out again, get out of here and fight him."_

_**"Are you blind? Surely you can see this huge cage I'm inside!"**__ A few large tails slammed against the seal just to clarify its point._

_"Yes, but-" they were interrupted by a flare of energy._

_Madara and Kyuubi paused for a moment during their conversation._

_**"The brat... He's drawing upon my chakra,"**__ said the Kyuubi._

_"Tobi, you can't just do this without something happening, can you?" Madara groaned. Then he turned back to the demon fox. "So... does my offer still stand?" he asked._

_Kyuubi considered for a moment.__** "Hmm... as much as I want to refuse, this actually sounds quite interesting. Alright, what's in it for me?"**_

_Madara grinned._

_"As I was saying, there is a way to get out. Acid notes." He made a pointless gesture with his hand. "Be sure to manipulate Naruto into buying some."_

_**"And how would you know I won't use them to my own benefit?"**__ the beast raised an eyebrow._

_Madara smirked. "I don't."_

_END FLASHBACK_

**"Stupid Uchiha..."** Kyuubi muttered. **"He had to play on my pride. He knew I would save it for the right time, and then extract revenge upon the one that sealed me here. But still... This is an offer I just can't refuse."**

He gazed out into the dimly lit sewers, watching the constantly dripping water. **"Humph. History is about to repeat itself, and I am once again in the middle of it."**

Madara opened his eyes slowly.

His body was aching all over, no doubt caused by all the fighting and explosion caused by Sasuke's ShiTori. It was quite a powerful attack, he admitted.

But where was he? Was he back there again? Had someone sensed the chakra flares and carried them somewhere?

Casually, Madara poked his head out from around the corner.

"Deidara-sempai?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"Tobi, un." Deidara huffed. "Or should I say _Madara_ now? Why didn't you ever tell me, un! I'm your partner!"

Tobi sighed. "Sorry, Deidara-sempai. But this was Tobi's undercover mission, nobody was supposed to know Tobi's name!"

Deidara shrugged. "Whatever, un. At least we know now."

Tobi switched to a more serious mode. "What happened to the others?" Madara asked.

Deidara twitched, still not accustomed to this new side of his partner. "Dunno, un. They went back home, and the leader fellow was gonna be executed"

...

There was a chilling silence as Madara's brain worked furiously to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Would you mind repeating that?" Though his tone was low and calm, Deidara winced at the dangerous undertone buried below. Madara was no doubt pissed, and he was not sure if anybody or any_thing_ could stop him.

"M-madara, un! If you want more details, you should go ask- hey, wait!" There was a dust cloud left from where Madara had stood a nanosecond earlier.

The Uchiha's mind spun furiously as he ran across the street, earning stares and terrified looks of recognition. But he did not care about that right now, his sole thought was to get to his brother.

Madara did notice the black streaks of chakra leaking out, probably the seal becoming unstable from his emotions. He frankly did not care. If Konoha killed his brother _again_ - like how they had succeeded in the first timeline- then they deserves to face Juubi.

He had no emotional ties to anybody else in the world besides Izuna, and had endured the pain of losing him once before. This would not happen again, or he would not hesitate in unleashing the ten-tailed demon.

"WHERE. IS. HE!" Madara roared as he charged into the Hokage tower, spewing out curses like... well... Hidan.

The terrified ninjas quickly left to find Tsunade, hoping not to earn the wrath of the legendary Uchiha Madara.

Said man snorted and began demolishing furniture in the waiting room and tapping his foot in impatience. A moment later, Tsunade stormed out, holding a bottle of sake.

What's the meaning of this?" she asked crossly. "You come here and scare my ninjas?"

Madara twirled his scythe, it's blade narrowly missing several people's heads. "Where have you put him?" he asked, this time reining in his temper.

"You mean IU?" Tsunade asked, eyebrow raised. "ANBU holding cell 13, section B. Why do you care?"

A slender gloved finger tapped against the table impatiently. "I need you to stop the execution."

"Why do you care?" Tsunade asked again, "He's done nothing but cause trouble. He's the reason the world is in chaos right now. He is-"

"MY BROTHER!" Madara yelled, "He is Uchiha Izuna, the only relation I have left. I have heard news of his death once before, and never again!"He prepared the handseals for body flicker, but then adding. "If he dies again, expect a certain repeat of one situation that would make the Kyuubi situation sixteen years ago seem insignificant." he left curtly.

Hinote was munching on a caramel apple when she felt it.

It was a simple tug, but it symbolized so much more. She looked at her watch, looking at the numbers that began flashing urgently.

Five minutes to midnight, yet it wasn't. It was the middle of the afternoon. The tugging became more frequent, and she knew exactly what it meant.

The watch was special, and it signalled when it was her time to-

"-leave." Khorale said as she jogged in. "Honestly, I'm not really that surprised at this. We're nearly at the end, after all."

"You would." Hinote snorted. "but unlike you, I'm not just going to sit around and wait five minutes. I have work to do."

"What work? You're eating!"

"Look into the future, and tell me what you see."

"What? Fine!" there was a pause as Khorale went still. "just static. Strange, I never thought my visions could be compared to a television..."

Hinote smirked. "I suppose my work is done, then." her cryptic words echoed through the clearing as she started to fade.

The tiny clock hands struck twelve.

Madara and Izuna sat.

That's all they did. Neither knew what to say. 'Don't die'? 'I will avenge you'? 'Please survive this impossible situation'? All of those sounded dumb, even inside Madara's head.

"Why," he finally asked. "Did you start Itonami in the first place?"

Izuna blinked for a moment. "I... Well... this-!" he grabbed his head in frustration, trying to get the words out. "This isn't supposed to happen, the Itonami I first intended for is not supposed to be like-"

"-a bunch of revenge-obsessed people?" Madara commented dryly.

"Exactly." Izuna nodded. "Our original goal was supposed to be to get even with Konoha. But with each powerful member that came, a new grudge appeared on our list. Though Zabuza was okay."

"Humph."

"Anyways, soon I was not actually leading them, just steering them in the general direction for them to fulfil their own agenda. Of course, there is also a leader behind all this, just like you and Pein."

Madara leaned forward, interested. "And who might that be?"

"You do remember Utakata?"

Naruto looked around, but saw no sign of anybody. "Khorale!" he called out, "Can we go and eat ramen?"

There was no answer, and the forest looked empty.

Naruto surged his chakra in search of Khorale's, but still found nothing. Suddenly, there was a swish of leaves and a note landed from the trees.

Hi there!

This is Khorale, and I will be long gone by the time anyone picks up this letter.

There isn't much left to do here and I'm kinda sad to say goodbye, but Hinote says things will turn out all right. As much as I don't trust her, she never lies. But there are ways to get around the truth, so watch out.

Say hello to everyone!

Naruto sighed and pocketed the note. "Oh man, what am I going to tell the others?"

Hidan was reading an encyclopedia when he started laughing.

Annoyed, Kakuzu headed over and asked what was causing him to make a ruckus.

"(BEEP), Kakuzu, look at this (BEEP)ing book!" Hidan chortled.

Kakuzu did, and his eyes narrowed on the entry about worms.

"If the (BEEP)ing worms have five hearts, what does that make you?"

"Hidan." Kakuzu's voice was filled with venom as he gazed hatefully at the entry. "Kindly tell me where this worm thing resides, and I'll chop off its head."

"Utakata?" Madara echoed. "Not that I can't see why, but still."

"He survived his extraction in a unique opportunity that I didn't think would happen again. At least, not until I heard about Hoshigakure." Izuna admitted. "You remember the ghost village, right? If we were to go to that place again, it should be gone. But while it was there, the environment around a ghost village grew strange things..."

There was a moment of silence until Madara realized what Izuna meant. "This?" he drew the petite white flower from his pocket. To his surprise, the flower still looked fresh, not a single petal missing or ripped.

Izuna stared. "How did you get that?"

"The mountain, which was beside Hoshigakure." Madara deadpanned. "So, Utakata survived because of this?" he examined the flower closely. In the darkness of the cell, the pure whiteness of the flower was almost glowing. It gave off a mystic aura woven into the petals, which felt creamy and soft.

"I don't really know how it works, and Utakata didn't tell me much." Izuna shrugged. "But if you crush the petals into powder, then consume it. You can survive something that would otherwise kill you."

"I'm giving it to you, then." Madara said hurriedly, remembering about the execution.

"No."

"WHY?" Madara exploded, rounding up on his brother. "Look, whatever that's going on in your mind right now; forget it. Don't have any heroic thoughts, don't think that the world is going to fix itself only if you're dead. It doesn't work that way."

Izuna shook his head. "You don't understand. It's because of me we're in this mess in the first place!" he exclaimed. "If I had never gathered this group-"

"You think that dying will correct that mistake?" Madara said dryly, "If you did die, that would cause more trouble than benefit. Besides, as you said, this is your mess. You've got to fix it YOURSELF instead of leaving it to other people, especially me."

There was a moment of stillness as Izuna pondered this.

Finally, he relented. "I don't think I'm going to live anyways, not after this stupid council that practically took over after Tsunade went 'missing'. She doesn't have that hold over them anymore, and so she has no say in this."

The reality of the situation suddenly crashed down, and Madara would have staggered if he wasn't sitting down.

Izuna's going to die, and there was not going to be a way to bring him back this time.

His mind went back to the the conversation with Hinote, and he wondered a bit What If.

What if he took the other choice? What if he returned to his own timeline? What would happen to here, then?

The answer came to him easily. He would be dead again in his own timeline, there was nothing left for him there. Nothing except a version of the Moon-Eye plan that had been twisted beyond all recognition.

And this timeline would have gone to the flames.

He shook his head, this wouldn't happen if he could help it, if only for Izuna's sake. Originally, he hadn't cared much about anyone in this place, and all he wanted was to correct his mistakes and move on. He would capture all Bijuu and avoid making the Kyuubi jinchuuriki as powerful as he was then. Everything was supposed to be so perfect, all thought out and ready for him to take.

But that's when Izuna came in.

It was Izuna who pushed him back to the brink of sanity, Izuna who made sure he started caring again, Izuna who was about to die again.

He couldn't let it happen.

He wouldn't.

It was a strange day in Suna, when a large dust cloud signified the arrival of several Kage-level ninjas.

Karura and Minato stood on top of a sand dune as they watched the peaceful weather, hidden of course.

They knew that after the large stunt Utakata made them pull, no hidden villages would accept them anymore, especially if one of the Kages held a grudge.

Minato didn't care about Konoha, of course, but Karura was hesitant for her child.

She was proud of the way he had grown, a fine young man and quite the leader.

And he had several scrapes and burns from the explosion, ones that could be painful.

She frowned, and several grains of sand snatched the medicine from her pocket.

Karura snuck it through a window, along with a note to explain it's not a poison.

The duo left in silence, free to wander the world.

Orochimaru scribbled through several notes as he rushed through his research.

He was so far behind this project, it was not even funny!

He thank god for Kabuto's faithfulness, for keeping the base tidy and the workers in line. The medic-nin healed Orochimaru's injuries immediately as he arrived, though the Snake Sanin's eyebrow raised as a child clung to one of Kabuto's legs.

Rather odd that when he mentioned that, Kabuto had struggled not to cry.

Orochimaru was surprised as he heard the recent news, not that he cared who Konoha killed, of course. But he knew what Madara-san would do once his brother was killed.

Konoha would be oblirated.

Orochimaru smirked, and got back to work.

"What can I do, then?" Madara asked, "is there anything I can do?"

Izuna held his gaze for a moment, red Byakugan eyes never blinking.

"Madara. I want... I want my eye back."

Madara nodded silently, and got to work.

He shouldn't be surprised, but he was.

This shouldn't be happening, and it had made him change his original plan. But it happened, and things turned out better than he had ever hoped. In a few hours, Fire Country would be a desert full of ashes and dust.

Juubi hovered and watched as his chakra ate away at the barrier that kept him contained. It was decaying, that's what happens when an object touched his acidic chakra. If he continued melting it non-stop, he would soon be free.

In twenty-four hours, the Ryuketsu no Ha will commence.

Drip.

The sound of blood splashing to the floor, but the two shinobis ignored it. They had succeeded, and it was all that mattered.

The flower was clutched in one shaking hand, one final offer that both knew wouldn't matter, the blood splattered on the petals shone like red dew.

It sparkled from the sunlight, and gave hope as well as despair. Because their time was up, and soon they would never see each other again.

"It's sad, really, how much I messed this up." Madara murmured, still staring at the flower. "If only so many things hadn't happened, if I had only one more chance."

There was silence, except for the duo's breathing.

Finally, Izuna spoke. "Will you be with me?" His aged face, slightly older than Madara, looked like a child again.

"Until the very end."

Uzumaki Naruto ran.

Baa-chan was back! And the bad guys were gone, now.

But first he had to show Khorale's letter to the other Rookies, and then go and make sure Sasuke didn't run off again.

He cheered up as he remembered Sasuke.

The brooding Uchiha had shown up, all burnt and sulking, dragged here by Tsunade who only did it to make Naruto happy. She then made Danzo secure him with his ROOT shinobis, with the threat of exposing his little grave-robbing hobby with the Uchiha eyes.

Tsunade's happy, Naruto's happy, everyone's happy.

With the exception of a few people. Of course.

With a triumphant roar, the beast broke free of his prison at last.

Now the mass of black chakra shifted once again, into the shape of Uchiha Madara.

**"Now it's my turn."**

* * *

><p><strong>I apologize for the EXTREME wait, but I got stuck somewhere in Madara and Izuna's conversaiton. It was hard to write and express WHY Izuna would do something like that. It almost killed me (figuratively) to write what's going to happen to poor Izuna! So my apologies for Uchiha fans everywhere. I WOULD reassure you that things will turn out well in the end, but I'm not sure on that yet.<strong>

**Itonami members:**

**Minato – Kogane (Gold)**

**Izuna - IU**

**Zabuza – Musei (Silent)**

**Tauyua– Meimu (Illusion)**

**Hinote – Okunote (Secret)**

**Utakata – Riku (Shore)**

**Karura – Areno (Desert)**

* * *

><p><strong>Spoiler:<strong>

_Kakashi-sensei was still having fun hacking the chat room, and Naruto hadn't have the heart to announce Khorale's departure. So he avoided posting on it at all, as he wasn't such a great secret keeper._

_There was a knock on the door, and the whiskered boy warily approched it. He was well aware of what could have happened had Jiraiya hadn't arrived during what they both called 'the Itachi incident.'_

_Netherless, he trudged forward and opened it cautiously. His eyes grew wide as he recognized one of the duo, and he honestly didn't know what to say._


	28. Interlude: Lists of Explainations

List of similarities tSoC has with other things.

1. Juubi's eye. Kind of like the demons eyes from Inuyasha. Though Juubi's is black with a glowing white slit. I created that BEFORE I read Inuyasha!

2. Impel Down. Just switch Izuna and Ace, two characters both prisoners with brothers trying to rescue them, both on the death row waiting for execution, though I won't give away Izuna's fate.

3. Khorale. Typical Author insert-self-in-fanfiction character, minor role, so not a mary sue. (relieved sigh)

* * *

><p>List of things I want to explain:<p>

1. This is AU, so things may be different here...

2. Yes, Tauyua here is in the Kurama clan because they have that illusion kekkei genkai thing. The clan was almost wiped out, except for a few members here and there.

3. Yes, Madara is -sorta- Juubi. So first, Juubi's body was sealed into the moon, his chakra made into Bijuus. But he's immortal, so couldn't die. It got reincarnated into a child, who just happens to be Madara. But the body can't take the strong mind, so Juubi hiberrnated a few years, and another identity was created to fill up the space.

When Madara got older, he often heard voices only he could hear, and Juubi was training him so that when he gets strong enoughtakes over, his body would be actually strong. And then the Ketsueki massacre happens, and the rest was history.

4. It was hinted (or revealed? I forgot...) that Juubi was the one who turned back time before Madara actually died by Naruto's rasenshuriken. Juubi doesn't want to die, and we've all seen fics of Kyuubi bending space and time for Naruto, so it's possible.

5. I've been (VEEEEERY) subtly hinting at a hidden pairing. Though it wouldn't fully show itself. I'm no romance writer, more humorous stories for me! But yeah, there are hints. I so want to put it in, but that may ruin the story and destroying all my previous plans. So, maybe a bit more hints in the sequel?


	29. Interlude! What happens in the Afterlife

**Uchiha Mikoto's birthay today! Chapter 15 could be published if I write the not-yet-written battle scene in the next chapter. But, this is the last chapter before Epilogue! So it's extra long!  
><strong>

**Now, some hints at what Juubi has been up to...  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Interlude: What happens in the Afterlife?<p>

* * *

><p>"Tobi's a good boy!"<p>

"Oh shut up, Tobi." Hashirama groaned, "Now you're supposed to be dead, and what's with those clouds?"

"Oh!" Tobi chirped. "Hashirama-san doesn't know? hashirama-san is dead!"

"I know that, obvioiusly." Hashirama snapped, albeit a bit grumpily. "My actual body's dead, and I'm just a soul fragment stuck inside Madara for his Wood-release abilities. Now explain why I'm here."

"But you ARE dead, Hashirama-san! You're in the afterlife right now!"

"Well, if Madara died and got us all here, where is he? And Juubi?"

"Hashirana-san misunderstands. He is dead, Madara-san is not. Hashirama-san is killed by Juubi."

"W-wait, how dd that happen? I didn't remember dying."

Tobi shrugged, then bounded away. "Bye, Hashirama-san! Tobi has a job to do!" and he just vanished.

"Huh, wonder what that was about" Hashirama rubbed his forehead, then suddenly remembered. "TOBI! WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT JUUBI!"

No answer.

After a moment of blind panicking, Hashirama calmed down. Juubi was out, and the others are in danger. And he was here without even doing anything before getting killed.

"Don't worry, you're not the lamest death here." a voice sounded behihd him.

It was Uchiha Mikoto.

"Death by fangirls, actual fangirls alling into Naruto world and landing on something sharp and pointy, being eaten by that 10-year old Ramen Vampire..." she went on, listing the top ten lamest deaths.

"Okay, I get it." Hashirama said, "And the Ramen's still alive?"

Mikoto shrugged. "Strangely enough, yes. How it survived four tails of Kyuubi's chakra, was a mystery."

"Soooo..." Hashirama felt awkward. "We're dead. What now?"

"This." the Lady Uchiha gestured towards a huge room full of TVs. "One pops up when you die, so we don't really have to pay for it. It can show you anything in the living world, and can enlarge if you want to see two places at once."

"Wow..." Hashirama said, impressed, "Cool..."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be back to my spot, seeing what idiotic revenge spree my son's focused on now." she left.

"Okay... So, TV. Show me Madara, Juubi, and Izuna." stated Hashirama. The screen enlarged, and divided into three sections.

One look at it and-

"I AM GOING TO _KILL_ THAT (BEEP)ING IDIOT!"

* * *

><p><strong>Tee hee, Tobi appears! Hashirama has seen something that makes him homicidal! Madara has obviously done something stupid!<strong>

**Find out next time, on tSoC! (I am TEMPTED to reveal more of next chapter, but that'd be spoilers)**


	30. Embodiment of Death

**My notebook helped plenty in the jump start of this chapter. I store ideas in it until the right scenario came! And this chapter... It came out in quick, short bursts of randomness, that I was totally unprepared! It was a drastic change from the writers block on the past few chapters.**

**Y'know, this and chapter 14 should be one single chapter, but even divided, this chapter is LONG.**

**PS, check the new poll.**

**PPS, I know this is late, but if I rush this, then the story wouldn't be as good.  
><strong>

**WARNING: This chapter has more swearing than usual, and not really censored like the ones before. Keep kids away!**

* * *

><p>✿Chapter 15: Embodiment of Death✿<p>

_... And the streets ran red with blood.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>With a triumphant roar, the beast broke free of his prison at last.<em>

_Now the mass of black chakra shifted once again, into the shape of Uchiha Madara._

_**"Now it's my turn."**_

* * *

><p>The sun rose slowly, painting the sky crimson. As if anticipating the events that would happen later on in the day. The ticking of the clock was constant, reminding Izuna's death was quickly approaching.<p>

"Damn," Madara muttered as he clenched the metal in his hand "what is the bars made out of?"

"Titanium." another voice said beside them. Madata tensed and turned around to face the lion-masked ANBU. "Just so you know, the council sent me here only to stop any escape attempts. And I'm escorting Madara-san out, for the job to be easier." the two disappeared with the body-flicker.

Madara swayed slightly as a sudden headache pierced his temple. He stopped in the middle of the hallway they appeared at, and the ANBU beside him tensed in suspicion.

"...Nothing," he waved it off. But he couldn't help feeling a sense of foreboding.

Was there a danger he was somehow unaware of? Hashirama was oddly silent, and brain felt slow, perhaps due to the fact that his brother was going to freakin' _die_ in the next hour or so... And speaking of which, there was something he's missing, something important.

But he could not remember.

* * *

><p>Naruto reached his apartment alone, shuffling slightly in the small kitchen to make himself a cup of instant ramen. He mulled over the situation. Sure, that IU guy kidnapped Tsunade-baachan, but he wasn't all that evil. He could tell just by looking at him, and Naruto had way too many encounters with bad guys to tell the difference.<p>

_He's more like... I dunno, Sasuke?_ But not as broody or arrogant. The jinchuuriki decided.

Kakashi-sensei was still having fun hacking the chat room, and Naruto hadn't have the heart to announce Khorale's departure. So he avoided posting on it at all, as he wasn't such a great secret keeper.

There was a knock on the door, and the whiskered boy warily approached it. He was well aware of what could have happened had Jiraiya hadn't arrived during what they both called 'the Itachi incident.'

Netherless, he trudged forward and opened it cautiously. His eyes grew wide as he recognized one of the duo, and he honestly didn't know what to say.

"Er...Hi?" Minato asked sheepishly.

* * *

><p>Time passed.<p>

Even though he was far away from the execution ground -which, by the way, was located in th center if Konoha- he could heard the massive cheers.

He gritted his teeth.

Madara concentrated on his Rin'negan eye. He had not controlled it to a point where he could resurrect the dead, like Nagato had, without dying himself. And here's where his theory kicked in.

If he traveled back in time physically rather than spiritually, then there would be another Madara running around somewhere. But since he hadn't seen hide nor hair of his younger self, Madara could only assume that they had switched places in time.

Now, his Paths are still intact inside the hideout, if nobody's there to disturb them, then this plan might work...

He cursed silently as he found out the walls are laced with chakra, thus scrambling up his transmission.

The clock was ticking... He need another plan! Quick!

Madara spun around so quickly, that it left his guard unable to prepare, and slammed his elbow into the poor ANBU's mask. Hearing the satisfying crunch of a nose breaking, Madara hurried out. This bought him some time, but now the element of surprise was gone.

He had to hurry.

Alarms blared, making his ears ring, but the Uchiha ignored it and disappeared out the door. His objective is to the center of Konoha, and damn if anyone tried to stop him.

"SHINRA TENSEI!" He bellowed, thrusting his hand outwards. The door of the ANBU hideout shattered by the massive force of gravity. War fan and scythe in hand, Madara body flickered as fast as he could.

Stupid Konoha for being the largest hidden village in Japan.

_"Stop him!"_ he could hear faint shouts.

"You do know that I fully support him, right?" Danzo deadpanned. "Uchiha Madara is an asset to Konoha, the council are fools to alienate him."

Madara nodded a quick thanks, and sped off.

His path was abruptly stopped by several bodies. He crashed into them, knocking everyone onto the ground like dominoes.

The Rookie eight (with Sai, minus Naruto and Sasuke) stared at him in surprise.

"Move," he told them curtly, then left before they could react.

Madara felt he was running out of breath. His head felt waterlogged, and energy was a hard thing to come by. He pushed his exhausion aside, he would deal later, if-_when_ Izuna was rescued.

"You will not pass, Uchiha," a voice demanded harshly behind him. Madara did not stop running as he sensed the Jonin catching up, "Surrender, and Konoha may be more lenient on your punishment."

"Oh, I know everything about Konoha's punishments," Madara laughed coldly, still not looking back at his opponent. He had no time for battle, but this man has brought it on to himself. "My clan was slaugthered because it was growing to be too big of a threat! My brother's about to be executed because of what you thought of 'Justice'!"

"What we do is for the greater good. The Will of Fire resides in the heart of every shinobi of Konoha! Your words will not sway me!" the ninja retorted.

"Will of fire, eh? I'll show you Fire!" Amaterasu raged across the sky, it's form morphed into the head of a snarling wolf. Madara reined it in, and forced it upon the terrified shinobi.

"Now, you are either going to tell the others to stop chasing me, or I'll kill you," Madara said dangerously. He was not in the mod for anything.

Three more minutes... He was not going to make it.

The Jonin nodded shakily, and left. Madara continued to shunshin as fast as he could to the execution stand.

He heard shocked yells as he made his presence known, tearing through ranks of ANBU. The blade was positioned to pierce Izuna's heart. If only he could get theough the crowd-

The execution blade drew back, the deadly steel glinted, poised to strike.

It flew through the air with deadly silence as the crowd's cheers intensified.

"NO!" Madara roared. But he was still too far away.

* * *

><p>"Guys! You'll never guess what happened!"<p>

"...huh?"

"The Konoha Council's dead!"

_"WHAT?"_

* * *

><p><em>Shik<em>.

Blood splattered the ground, and Madara saw a body drop to the ground, his throat slit.

For a moment, Madara just stared at the corpse yong face-down on the ground. He dared not to breathe, as if waiting for Izuna to suddenly jump up, and dash away before anybody could catch him.

Nothing happened, and the body layed still, leaking blood on to the ground.

Madara felt his fury spiking, and he snapped.

The Leaf has taken everything from him. His brother, his family, his only reason to live anymore.

Madara's scythe whipped through the air, announcing his dangerous presence as he rampaged. The fury consumed him, and he didn't care anymore.

He did not feel the kunais ripping his clothes, drawing blood as he tore through the ranks of shinobi. He did not care when all five elements attacked from his surroundings. He was burnt, bloody, and drenched. But through the cloud of pain, he could not get rid off the grief shattering him from the inside. ...Or was it the headache?

There was an unbearable silence in his mind, and not even Hashirama was there anymore. Though little did Madara know, Juubi had ripped the Shodaime's soul to shreds when he got out.

The pain in his head stopped, and a dark presence enveloped his mind.

'Make them pay.'

**'Yessss... Just let me out."**

'Kill them all.'

... And the streets ran red with blood.

* * *

><p>A beastial roar echoed, and the Village of the Hidden Leaf shook. Black smoke pored out of Madara, and formed a phantom image of a snarling wolf. It's pearly-white teeth bared, and it's claws were dyed vermillion.<p>

It was huge. Just as big as Kyuubi, with ten opaque swishing tails that created a torrent of darkness. With enough killing intent for grown men to piss themselves in fear.

"T-this is bad," Minato said as he and three other people peeked out from Naruto's apartment window.

"I told you, Madara should have been in on this plan!" Karura yelled at him, the stress obviously getting to her. "And you!" she turned to the other man, "you should be out there helping them calm Madara down! Why the (_BEEP_) are you still standing here?"

"Sorry!" Izuna squealed. "I know I've seen Juubi before, but he wasn't THIS huge when I saw him!"

No, that was not a typo. Izuna's really here, with Naruto and the others, and obviously alive.

Let's review the following events:

Before Madara awoke, and rushed of to the Hokage tower, Minato and Karura was already visiting Izuna. Izuna told them that he would be fine, but Karura convinced him otherwise. So the Uchiha grudgingly agreed and handed to them a copy of the origional plan for Operation Apples, told them to modify it to fit this circumstance, without the apples of course.

But Madara was approaching and Izuna told them to leave. As Madara's acting skills _sucked_ and he would be closely guarded to make sure he doesn't do anything suspicious. Before the duo left, Izuna told them that only himself, Madara, Tobi, and Naruto would be able to decode this.

Madara's being watched, Tobi doesn't exist anymore, they can't spend any more time with Izuna, so Naruto was the only choice.

Minato, of course, was reluctant to meet his son because it was his fault Naruto suffered a bad childhood. He was surprised when Naruto hadn't done anything ("and that weak punch in the face doesn't count!" he added) to him, and they spilled the beans about news regarding what happened after the battle.

It was decided that the Council had gone too far, and Minato decided that being the Yondaime Hokage, he will be the one dishing out the penalty for ALL their crimes. Ordering the Uchiha Massacre, leaking out the information that Naruto's a jinchuuriki to the public, ordering the massacre of the Uchiha, and just being plain corrupt.

A few well-placed poisoned mushrooms did the trick.

Then they laid out the plan, for Naruto's clone to do a karawami with Izuna before he dies. The timing has to be perfect, and the henge too. But then Karura noted that when a shadow clone gets dispelled it erupts into a puff of smoke, then they'll all be busted.

They stole the Forbidden Scroll. Again.

The location hasn't changed, as if Sarutobi had left it unguarded just for Naruto to have a look at it later. But that wasn't important. They combed the contents for useful information, and just when they are nearing the end, they found it.

This special type of clones need a certain amount (a drop for it to last an hour, and so on...) of blood to sustain it. Problem is, they can't visit Izuna right now.

It would have been the end, and Izuna actually executed, until...

"Sasuke!" Naruto had exclaimed.

The Uchiha had been dragged back to Konoha by Tsunade after the battle, to keep Naruto happy. Now he was under house arrest for a month, a rather light punishment since Naruto had begged them to.

Sasuke did have a remarkable resemblance to Izuna, minus the pony tail. But after getting three drops of blood, and teaching Sasuke's clone the Orioke no jutsu later... (Well, they had to stop the nosebleed Minato had, and get a copy of Izuna's clothes to the Clone. Not to mention bandaging 'her' chest to hide 'her' breasts...) Yup, they were done.

And now, they were trying to reach Madara, but to no avail.

"Susanoo!" Izuna shouted, enjoying the feeling of his original eye back where it belonged. "That will get through this thick wall of chakra!"

It was like a tsunami. If not for Susanoo's protection, Izuna would have been swept off his feet and instantly incinerated. But he held. Barely. He slowly pushed into the cloud of thick, buzzing energy. He grabbed Madara's shoulders, shaking him.

"Madara!" he yelled, hoping it reached his brother over the noise. "Stop this! It's me, Izuna!"

But there was no answer. Malevolent white-slitted eyes glared at him, and suddenly Izuna was flung out of the hurricane.

"It's no use," he panted, feeling a trickle of blood drip down his side. "Juubi must be blocking everything from Madara. Sight, smell, sound, touch. We need somebdy-"

"To go into his mind," Minato said, annoyed. He clearly remembered what happened last time, and what would have happened if Izuna hadn't stepped in.

"I can't do that jutsu again" Izuna said, "he's blocked by Juubi's chakra, and attacks would just bounce off."

There was silence, as the trio tried to think up a plan.

"I'll do it," said Naruto, "I'm a jinchuuriki, and a Bijuu is part of Juubi, and I've been in Madara's mind before..."

Minato didn't speak, but his eyes showed how worried he is. "Naruto, Just... Be careful, alright?"

Naruto nodded, and sat down in a meditative pose.

"Well, here goes nothing." he sighed.

* * *

><p>"Where the HELL is he?" Sakura snarled. "It's been days, he hasn't appeared in the chatroom, and now Khorale's missing as well?"<p>

"I do hope they're not doing anything together." Hinata muttered, fist tightly clenched.

"A-are you alright, Hinata?" Chouji asked the girl, who seemed very agitated for some reason.

Kakashi was mysteriously absent as well, not to mention that Madara had pratically ran them over earlier on in some kind of hurry. And the amount of missing people could only mean one thing:

Something important is happening.

True to their thoughts, what erupted in the center of Konoha was the darkest chakra they had ever felt.

"Is that... A wolf?" Ino asked fearfully.

* * *

><p>A shinobi neared the gates of Konoha, which was left foolishly unguarded.<p>

"Shinra Tensei!" the shinobi dodged that attack. He rolled to the side, eyes narrowing.

"Kushiyose no jutsu!" he whispered quickly. A column of smoke erupted before a boss summon came out. Pein was blown back by the unexpected attack, and then pulled out a sharp chakra rod.

With a metallic clash, the two started fighting, with the other five pathes battling the huge weasel.

It ended quickly, and the winner stepped out of the cloud of dust.

* * *

><p>Kurama Tauyua was feeling a headache.<p>

Not only she was being followed by an overly-cheerful psycho going by the name of Momochi Zabuza with his pet Hunter Nin that used to be dead, she had also went home (Kiri) and found her remaining family dead.

Just (BEEP)ing great.

The Mizukage's back too. Yay. And guess who she had a grudge against?

In the Bingo book, both their status was promoted to S-class missing nins, and their organization (Itonami) being evenly matched with the Akatsuki.

Bullshit.

Even though they got this badass group gathered, power means shit if they don't cooperate. Pein and Madara had complete and utter control over their subordinates, and the Itonami? Chaos.

All in all, the Akatsuki will beat them if both sides go all out with no secret weapons.

Reality's a bitch.

* * *

><p><strong>"Come on, you stupid pile of crap!"<strong> Kyuubi seethed as it swung all nine of its tails into the seal.** "Dissolve faster!"** it could already sense Juubi, and there's not a second to loose. But the Yondaime was really an excellent seal master, and now it was taking a minute. A minute they don't _have_.

Naruto appeared quite suddenly, splashing the cold sewage floor.

**"What do you want, mortal?"** the beast rumbled.** "leave me alone, I'm busy."**

Naruto stared at the hardly subtle disintegration of the seal. "Riiiiiiight. I don't have the time to worry about this right now so I'll just be...going...

**"Do as you want."**

The orange-clad ninja remembered that hallway he had walked through before, and tried to search for it.

It was not exactly hidden, but it has changed.

Dull red vines with thorns now wrapped around it, huge leaves blocked the entrance. It twisted, revealing sharp teeth and it seemed almost alive.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled in panic, plowing through it. But to his horror, the entire hallway was covered with the same thick, ugly vines. It hissed at him, and Naruto just couldn't remember any fire jutsus.

He dodged a few spikes and kept running, if Madara's here he would get rid of them. It's his mind not to mention he's an Uchiha, so he's got the Amaterasu.

The usually lit room was dark and empty. There was no sign of anyone and the blood on the floor...

Broken glass also littered the floor, and bits of steel too. It was charred, like something acidic had eaten through it. Naruto walked on, ignoring a mouldy lolipop near the broken barrier.

Madara and Juubi are nowhere to be found. Juubi was expected, as he got out and all. But where was Madara? Tobi? Hashirama?

_'Madara isn't real.' _Naruto remembered. _'Just like Tobi. And when Tobi wasn't necessary anymore...'_

A cold chill went down the back of his spine, but Naruto reminded himself that Madara might still exist, like how he survived whatever happened the last time. Not that he knew what happened.

"Some clue would be nice." he grumbled. Seriously, this place was totally trashed. There are burnt patches on the wall, and the control room was nowhere to be seen.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted a door. It was small, wooden, and almost invisible. But Naruto's eyes are very sharp, as all ninjas. It was reinforced with steel, but a nice huge Rasengan with multiple shadow clones had done the trick.

Madara was inside, his clothes tattered and his breathing shallow. The room has no light at all, and the lack of oxygen in here was worrying. With a kunai, Naruto carefully reflected light to dimly lit the room.

It was painted black, and felt like a coffin. Madara still wouldn't wake up. Naruto felt his strength leaving as he realised something alarming. The paint was not ordinary paint - it was eating his chakra! The blond shinobi quickly hauled Madara and himself out of the room, and almost left, before he remembered.

If they leave, they might be locked out, and then Madara would never get back to his own body.

But...

Naruto looked around. This place is beyond repair. No matter how he looked at it, the damage was far to great, and Madara couldn't possibly survive staying here any further.

But first, they have to carry Madara's chakra and his memory with him, because he would be _furious_ if he found out otherwise. And really, if Madara doesn't have his memories or his power, then what could he do to help?

Naruto hurriedly ran down the silent hall, opening doors left and right to find what he need. Once, he had even found a monster residing in one of the rooms, but he didn't dwell on that and had just left.

Finally, the door with the lable _'memories'_ was located. Inside was full of mist, and Naruto had no idea how to gather them.

His mind went back to the academy days where Iruka-sensei was droning on about useless things. They must have talked about something interesting! But all boring stuff. They even learned about the environment and the temperature!

Wait, so water heats up and turns into gas, water cools down and turns solid. There's a way for gas to turn solid if it's very cold!

Too bad Haku's not here.

Naruto performed Kage Bunshin no jutsu, and had his clone turn into a refrigerator. He had no idea if this would work or not, but his refridgerator is VERY cold, probably because the apartment manager had hoped his teeth will break by eating frozen food... Yeah...

So with the memories safely tucked away, Naruto was on the search for chakra!

That was easier to find because Naruto could actually sense it. It was also convinient that it was gathered together already in the pulsing form of an orb. It shone blue with specks of red inside. Naruto approached it slowly, and held Madara's unconscious form.

The glowing orb never stopped moving. It spun slowly, bobbing up and down in the air like a balloon. Gradually, it faded. Naruto knew that his job here is now done.

But Madara -Juubi-'s mind would not let them leave. The ground beneath them began churning, quickly turning into quicksand. Naruto leapt up, and clung to the ceiling, which turns out to be more vines.

It took a swip. At him, and Naruto accidentally dropped Madara. The Uchiha's body hit the sandy whirlpool below, and disappeared.

"Madara!" Naruto shouted.

* * *

><p>Naruto's body swelled with red chakra. It shifted, then poured out of him like vermillion ribbons. Izuna, Minato, and Karura jerked back.<p>

"What the heck is he doing down there?" Minato hissed worriedly. His son was the most unpredictable ninja in shinobi history, and he wasn't sure whether that was a good thng or not.

The familiar form of a crimson fox with nine flowing tails was crouched in a position to attack. People screamed at the sight of Kyuubi, knowing they're doomed as the demon will surely side with the other demon.

To their surprise, Kyuubi pounced on Juubi, clawing at the other's hide. The two Chakra Demons tore at each other, fans snapping and tails demolishing their surroundings.

"Look, Kyuubi's luring Juubi away from Konoha!" Izuna shouted.

Sure enough, the two battling Bijuus were edging further and further away. They rampaged towards the general direction of the Valley of the End.

A huge weasel bounded after them, a shadowy figure on top of it's head.

"Is that..." Karura gasped.

* * *

><p>He was floating.<p>

It was oddly silent in the darkness, and he just wanted to sleep, to rest for an eternity. It felt like he was fading away...

How odd.

He didn't bother open his eyes. This was rather peaceful, to just lay there, not to be bothered by anything.

Something nagged at him, his instincts screamed at him to move, to open his eyes, to return to reality.

He didn't want to.

It was very faint. Detached. A dark current carried him away, and the urge to wake up got stronger. He want to move, to run away and out of here, for a reason he couldn't remember.

...

He was fading.

* * *

><p>Naruto summoned a few clones, and they formed a human ladder. Naruto had never used his wind chakra for things other than his still-developing Rasenshuriken, but he knew that wind could also be blunt. It could blow things away, namely the sand that was once a clean marble floor.<p>

He could sense Madara, but it was getting fainter, like he was dying.

He had to hurry.

"Great Hurricane no jutsu, attempt #1." he sighed, forming a ram seal.

A tiny breeze answered him. Naruto's eye twitched.

"#2."

(Five more tries later...)

"#7." a gust of wind barely strong enough to be called "wind" was concentrated on the center of his palm. Naruto knew he had to hurry and save Madara (weird as that sounds...). He would prefer quantity to quality for now.

An army of shadow clones had their jutsus ready, arms stretched out for preparation of their newly invented jutsu.

"Great Hurricane no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.

The floor barley moved.

Naruto added new clones, more desperate this time. "Great Hurricane no jutsu!"

As much as they are exaggerated in the manga, the time taken to learn an attack is not that fast. A jutsu is not created and mastered in a measly five minutes, Naruto's not really that overpowered in this story. So yeah, reality sucks.

Then, when the floor settled down, there was no sign of Madara's chakra signature anymore.

* * *

><p>He was so tired.<p>

The force was more insistent as he was carried further down. It began to push down, crushing him.

Why was he sleeping?

His surroundings turned colder, and he was tempted to move, but his body no longer obey him.

There was something he needed to do...

So heavy.

Somebody was tugging him, pulling him up. Who was it? He could breathe a it easier, and the crushing sensation eased.

He was nearing the surface.

The last thing Madara heard was...

_"Tobi's a good boy!"_

* * *

><p>Everyone had their own dreams.<p>

Power. Fame. Knowledge.

Tobi smiled, although that couldn't be seen through his orange swirly mask. He did not technically exist anymore. Madara did not know it consciously, but the reason why Tobi existed st all, his purpose, was already fulfilled.

Tobi had brought many changes into the world. He united the Elemental countries, he had singlehandedly brought peace into the world. Madara's ultimate goal, before he got sidetracked into the World Domination buisness.

He remembered back to when Hinote got Madara to make a choice. She had also visited him when Madara and Izuna switched their bodies back. Hinote had explained what would happen once Tobi creased to exist, and Madara was in danger of suffering the same fate.

The fail-safe was created so that Tobi would come back for a brief moment, to rescue Madara if needed, if this possible outcome happened. And it had.

And Tobi liked happy goodbyes.

* * *

><p>"Madara!" Naruto cried in relief as he spotted the familiar spike of black hair surfacing, breaking apart chunks of marble as he dug himself out of the now solid floor.<p>

"Tobi." the Uchiha whispered, "I heard Tobi."

Naruto gave him a strange look. "I didn't hear anything. Maybe you just thought you heard it in your dream or something."

"Or something." Madara mumbled, shaking dust from his hair.

"C'mon, lets get going."

Before Madara turned to follow Naruto to search for the exit, he spotted a fading image waving at him.

He blinked, and Tobi disappeared. He shook his head, and left.

"Man. Naruto moaned. "The floor shifted, and now I have no idea where we are. Any ideas?"

Madara's eyes could see rather well in the darkness, especially his newly aquired Mangekyou Byakugan. He spotted something on the floor, and picked it up carefully in his gloved hand.

"You've got to be kidding me," he deadpanned.

A girl-guide cookie (mint version) was arranged in a straight line, an arrow pointing towards a glowing neon sign saying 'exit'.

A note floated down.

_You are very welcome._

_-(Author) Khorale  
><em>

Naruto laughed. "Thanks! We'll be going now!" and the duo raced past the cookie trail to the open door, snatching some while running.

With a mouth full of cookies, Naruto shouted "Roog! herrh sd iij!"

"Chew, baka." Madaraa scowled. "And those cookies have been on the floor!"

Naruto swallowed, and then repeated, "Look, there's the light!"

It was so bright that that the duo had to cover their eyes as they made their way through the narrow passage.

With a pop, they reappeared into the real world.

* * *

><p>After one lengthy explaination later, Madara offered to chase after Juubi and Kyuubi.<p>

Naruto had wanted to go with him, but was stopped firmly by Minato.

"No, Naruto, you're not going."

"Why? Kyuubi broke out, that makes it my responsibility!"

"You just want to go because of that's where the main battle is."

"Oh, c'mon!"

"...''

"Pleeeeeeeease?"

"No,"

Naruto pouted and stormed away.

Madara turned to Minato. "You know, he wouldn't like it if you coddle him too much." he said.

Minato rubbed his temples. "I know. But it's hard, you know? For a parent to seen what their child have gone through, and find out that they couldn't help. When Naruto needed me, I just wasn't there. Now I come back, he just don't seem to need me anymore" he sighed, then pulled out a seal. "Well, take this to seal Juubi. It will seal him into a place only I know, and prevent him from ever getting out."

"And you haven't use it until now?"

"Well," Minato laughed sheepishly, "I had this theory seconds ago, so I haven't tried it out yet. This is a test run, but I'm very sure it would work."

Madara allowed himself a facepalm. "How certain?" he asked.

"99.9999%."

"...Okay." snatching the seal, Madara ran off towars the direction of the Valley of the End.

* * *

><p>"Utakata!" Madara exclaimed upon arriving.<p>

Further off, the two Bijuus are still evenly matched, but Juubi's shifting abilities was giving him an edge.

Without any further words, the two of them leap into battle with their weapons raised.

Utakata was fast, and very agile. Madara has strength and experience on his side. But the Uchiha was worn out from his previous escapade in his mind, and the aftereffects of his headache Utakata was not in his best form either, as the fight with Pein had worn him out.

So far, the duo are evenly matched.

"This brings back memories." Madara murmured, glancing at the statue of himself and Hashirama.

"Great battles are fought here." Utakata agreed. "Are you at your best, and still fighting like this?"

"Far from it." Madara smirked. "I'm not at my fullest potential right now. I have been through Hell and back, eaten girl-guide cookies that had been on the ground, faced Juubi again, and still survived to face you right now! Why WOULD I be in perfect condition?"

"Good point." they clashed again.

"The day after tomorrow, then. Same place with your full power."

"If you survive that long."

As if they are just friends inviting each other over, the two stopped. Blood leaked from their injuries, and the two ninjas are not stupid enough not to stop. This level of injury is enough.

A roar blasted them all back. Kyuubi had a lucky shot, and blinded Juubi in his right eye. Enraged, the Ten-tails rampaged and his form collapsed into a malevolent hurricane of darkness.

The sheer power radiating off him was enough to make a person choke, and with frightening speed, Juubi wound itself around Kyuubi, solidifying into an obsidian cobra.

He squeezed tighter until Kyuubi was killed. But Bijuus are immortal, and Naruto hasn't died yet, so Kyuubi simply disappeared in a puff of red smoke, returning to the seal in Naruto's stomach.

Knowing that the victory wasn't his today, Utakata simply left the scene in preparation of the battle to come. He had a bad feeling though in regards of the battle...

Madara ran up the wall of a side of a cliff, directly facing the snake form of Juubi. Even with one eye healing slowly, Juubi was still a formidable opponent.

"Kushiyose no Jutsu!" Madara summoned one of his Rin'negan summons (animal path ability, in case you forgot) to keep him busy. Madara was already coming up with a plan.

The seal Minato made was still in his pocket, he needed to stick it on Juubi's forehead to make it work. That would be difficult if Juubi finds out what he's going to do and shift into an intangable fo-

That's it! How could he forget he still got this ability?

Madara's Mangekyo Byakugan flared, and now Madara found himself transparent.

So it actually works with this eye. And it looks like the Mangekyo has a lot of other unknown abilities as well, especially how he can use Amaterasu earlier. And since Izuna explained that this can warp reality, his space-time jutsus have increased drastically as well.

"I have truely hit jackpot on the kekki genkais." Madara said aloud. "Orochimaru would absolutely _die_ for this eye."

He leap, and passed through the snake, making sure Susanoo ws protecting him from the chakra as he solidified. Looking back. He saw his summon getting completely demolished. Well, at least Juubi wasn't focused on him right now.

He just need a second to catch 'himself' by surprise, to then put on the seal before Juubi had the chance to react.

It was proving to be very hard, especially when the summon was dead and Juubi was actively looking for him.

There's no chioce but to show himself.

Madara emerged from where he was hiding from, and spun his scythe around like a boomerang, attached only by the chain connecting it to his war-fan. It hurtled through the air, providing a distraction and the momentum to fling himself on to the top of Juubi's head.

Juubi let out a deafening howl, abandoning all attempts on human speech, and fired a Tailed-Beast Bomb into the sky. It exploded, the dark energy demolishing anything within fifty-mile radius.

"Goodbye, Juubi."

Despite their deep-rooted hatred, Madara was still a part of Juubi's soul. And in the end, it was very hard to tear himself apart like that.

Tobi, Hashirama, and now Juubi. Everyone in his life is slowly leaving, and for once, Madara cursed his own immortality. He would never, ever, see them again if they die. And he would be the only one left.

There was a brilliant flash of light, and the Bijuu no longer remained.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Preparations, a promise, and one last conversation.<strong>

**Now I have an apology to make. I am sorry for insulting reality, and hope that it would forgive me.**

**It's kind of a sad chapter, this one. Not the usual humor. This is techincally the last official chapter, and all that remains is the Epilogue. Unless there's any more Interludes?**

**Well, the sequel wouldn't be out for quite some time. It takes careful planning and some more ideas... Oh well.**

**See ya!**

**~Khorale**


	31. Epilogue: Preparations

**Hi! 'Tis I, Khorale, who decided to grace you with the Grand Closing of The Seasons of Change!**

**Yeah, this is the Epilogue... And I don't know when the sequel will be out, or if there will be a sequel at all.**

**Just kidding.**

**New poll in profile, about what new story I should do. Check it out!**

* * *

><p>Slash. Duck. Dodge. Stab.<p>

The sound of fighting reached Izuna's ears as he ventured into the forests of Konoha in search of his brother.

It had only been a day since the Incident.

Yeah, that's what everybody started calling the Ryūketsu no ha. Easy to remember, harder to figure out what it meant, and all in all kept a secret. Well, as much of a secret as they can.

The mass destruction in the center of Konoha and the forest, leading to the Valley of the End, was explained (even though nobody really believed it. They all sensed the conflicting chakras from yesterday). But still, Tsunade was sticking to that story. End of arguement.

Madara was currently training in the woods with a clone - "sulking", Izuna called it - and refused to see another person other than Izuna himself.

Izuna couldn't blame him, though. The events of the earlier week had happened so fast that it was still a struggle to register what the _HELL_ just happened.

"Hey."

Madara tensed and turned around, then rellaxed once he saw his brotherr. "Izuna." he called.

"..." the younger Uchiha decided to just sit on a log and watch his bother avoid blows from his clone.

"If ths is about the battle tomorrow," Madara said with his attention still focused on his copy, "I'm still going."

Izuna sighed. His brother had got to be the stubbornest Uchiha in stubborn Uchiha history, with Sasuke coming to a close second of course. Once an idea gets in his head, he will achieve it regardless of the consequences.

"Madara, I've already accepted convincing you was a hopeless case," he sighed, "Just promise you will come back alive, okay?"

Madara smirked, "am I the type to die easily?" He teased. "I'm not that weak, Izuna."

"Despite the fact that mentally you are older than me, I LOOK older than you. Which is very strange. You look twenty while I'm sixty or something..."

"I am always the mature one." Madara declared. He had abandoned all notions of training and sent two shadow clones to train for him. Memory transfer is a useful thing.

"OI THERE! TOBI! IZUNA!" there was a shout behind them. The Uchiha brothers turned to see Kisame running their way.

"What is it?" Madara asked, raising hs eyebrow.

"Have you seen Khorale?"

"...No."

"Oh. Well, I'm off. That Sasuke-kid is fighting Itachi. We're having a betting pool started nearby."

"Where is it?" Madara askee, interested now.

"Training ground 1. The one closest to the Hokage tower."

"In that case, I'm not going."

"What! Why?"

Madara scowled, which was odd for Kisame who had only knew the happy idiot known as Tobi for five years. "Kisame. the Incident had only happened yesterday. I am sure that it would be a hazard to my health if I go back to Konoha so soon. I'm surprised there was no mob in here trying to kill me."

"I think they're scared of you." Izuna commented lightly. "After all, you were the most powerful guy in history - though they don't know Juubi was sealed away -, and you are the suspect for the death of the Konoha Council yesterday."

"Wait, they're dead?"

"Except for Danzo and Tsunade, yeah."

"Good riddance." Kisame grunted.

"I'm going to pack now." Madara said, standing up and dusting his Akatsuki cloak.

"Huh?" Izuna asked

"My armor, baka. My weapon too."

"It's the afternoon! How can it take that long?"

"I need to clean my scythe and reinfrce the core of my war-fan. I need a new mask painted..." Madara trailed off.

"Excuses, excuses." Izuna snorted. "You just want to get the hell outta here, am I right?"

The elder Uchiha was quiet for a moment, before commiting the suprising action of hugging his brother.

"I swear that I will come back alive." he whispered. " and in return, you'll..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Find a nice girlfriend to ge laid with." Madara finished after the dramatic pause. Then he quickly let go of his brother and sprinted away

Izuna went beet red. "MADARA!" he shouted, mortified, as he dashed after his laughing brother.

"Isn't Izuna too old to get laid?" Kisame pondered as he watched, after a moment of consideration, "...Nah."

* * *

><p><strong>~The End~<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>And so comes the end of the story! Thanks for reading 'till the very end!<strong>

**A bit of fluff, humor, and a cliffhanger! So what do you think is gonna happen during Madara's fight?**

**And watch for the sequel, Ignorance is a Bliss!**


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